Kitty and Pietro FINISHED
by prydexx
Summary: [summary: at first they were like enemies... but will time and events turn kitty and pietro into lovers? with more to come, will this love b just another mistake? or forever hold your peace?] *a kietro must-read*
1. New Recruits

Kitty and Pietro  
  
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Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
Notice: ~ words ~ = thinking. " words " = speaking  
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Chapter 1: New Recruits  
  
"Kitty wake up! Wake up! Come on, girl!" the desperate voice rang inside Kitty's ears. Kitty's eyes slowly fluttered open, "W-What? Rogue? Is that you?"   
  
"Duh! Of course it's me! Hurry! Get up! It's really important!" Rogue choked out while vigorously shaking Kitty in attempt to get her up.  
  
Kitty stretched a lazy arm and brought the alarm clock nearer to sight. "Rogue! Are you like out of your mind or what? It's like 11.30! Damn you!" as soon as the lethargic figure gasped at Rogue's unwelcome disturbance, she puffed up her pillow, flopped down her skull and pulled the covers over her head.   
  
"Kitty! I'm serious! It's an emergency! I know it's not that early but the institute has got, well... NEW RECRUITS!" Rogue couldn't contain the excitement building up in her already, but she knew the first thing she should do was to get her "bedridden" feline friend out of her sleep.  
  
"What! Like why didn't you say so earlier!" Kitty bounced out of bed immediately like the 'awakened living-dead' probably assuming it just got to be Brat Pitt in the institute.   
  
* * *   
  
Kitty grabbed her sky blue scrunchie and in a swift move, got her hair tight up in her usual high ponytail. Rogue then grabbed her wrist and ran along the hallway as quietly as possible. It was like some top- secret mission that you see on spy movies or something. Kitty wasn't exactly sure why they have to act as though it was suppose to be confidential. What's so secretive about new recruits? Obviously, by then, Kitty had realised that it could never be Brat Pitt. She was just too caught up in her dramatic dreams of she and some top hot male celebrity. Kitty did not bother to ask Rogue but just followed her in tiptoes.   
  
"Yo, Kitty! Yo, Rogue!" Evan whispered still having a finger on his lips.  
  
"Are they still in there?" Rogue questioned, while Kitty raised an eyebrow. ~This is worst then some James Bond movie~, she thought.  
  
"Yep Rogue. Good night, Kätzchen, I see you're here too." Kurt replied as he slid his fingers nearer to the door that was left a little ajar. ~Brother! Yeah, I wouldn't be here if Miss Roguey ain't woke me up from...~ Kitty was about to finish her thoughts when...  
  
"Shh! Keep it down!" (Jubilee) "Argh! My toes! Get off of me!" (Bobby) "I'm sorry." (Kurt) "Why did they stop talking?" (Evan) "Shut up! I'm trying to listen." (Rogue) "Guys... disperse at the count of 3" (Kitty)  
  
"Oh no you don't," came a stern yet distinct voice of Jean Grey, senior X-Men.  
  
"Oh yes we do." (Evan) "Counting down from 0" (Bobby) "I need my crucifix!" (Jubilee) "Holy macaroni." (Kurt) "Amen." (Rogue) "Oh joy." (Kitty)  
  
"What are you guys doing here at this hour?" Jean interrogated.  
  
"Err-humm *clearing throat*! Dry weather, ain't it?" (Kitty) "Ah can feel my throat drying up! Help!" (Evan) "Take pity on me, Miss, take pity on me!" (Bobby) "Where's my crucifix!" (Jubilee) "It's comin' out!" (Rogue)   
  
"I may not know what you all are up to, but since you're here, I'll let you meet the institute's 2 new recruits." Jean said calmly though still having her suspicions aroused.  
  
"Alright!" (Evan) *punches fist into the air* "Woo-hoo!" (Bobby) "Alleluia!" (Jubilee) "Zhat vas cloze!" (Kurt) "Ooh! This is so exciting!" (Rogue) "The suspense is killing me man." (Kitty) *sarcastically*  
  
* * *   
  
"Oh! I see everyone's here!" Ororo looked at the row of grinning young mutants. Logan just sniffed the crafty presence in the air, ~just what are those children up to?~ He thought. "Very well, we will let you meet them. Meet Pietro Maximoff and Lance Alvers. Maximoff and Alvers, meet Evan, Bobby, Jubilee, Rogue, Kurt and Kitty." Professor Xavier broke the silence with a brief icebreaker.   
  
"Well, we shall leave you all here for now to socialise a little. But, don't forget to get right back to bed immediately!" Scott crossed his arms; he had the same thought as Jean and Logan.  
  
"Sure thing dude!" (Evan) "You got it, my man!" (Bobby) "Peace be with you!" (Jubilee) "Bon Voyage!" (Rogue) "Adios Amigos!" (Kurt) "Good Riddance!" (Kitty) *everyone stares at her comment*   
"Like, what?!" said Kitty crossing her arms.  
  
Everyone broke to rush towards the Avalanche. All but Kitty Pryde. She wondered why nobody seemed to care about the other. Maybe he just looked a little unfriendly, but he's still an X-Men all right.   
  
"Hey! My name's Kitty!" Kitty walked towards the young albino, with her right arm outstretched for a handshake. The mutant, clad in khaki pants and a smart dark blue tee, however, crossed his arms rudely and replied, "Hi." His tone was expressionless, needless to say? hostile. Kitty flashed a weak but innocent smile, and withdrew her arm. With the other hand twisting her right wrist, she spoke in a soft tone under her downed head, "Erm nice to meet you."  
  
"... And who may I know this pretty girl is?" Kitty looked up towards the deep, manly voice. "Me?" Kitty questioned with a slight frown of inquisitiveness on her face. He nodded. "I'm Kitty Pryde," mesmerizing blue eyes met compelling brown ones. He took her hand and planted a gentle kiss on it. Kitty jumped in surprised, leaving Avalanche spreading a cheeky grin on his face. "Way to go, Avalanche!" murmured Pietro.   
  
"Ok! What's going on! I thought all of you are supposed to be back to bed! Come on!" Scott's stern voice seemed to echo inside the spacious room.   
  
"Cool down man!" (Evan) "Like, we were about to leave." (Kitty) "Don't vet zo angry Scott." (Kurt) "You don't have to get so worked up Scotty boy." (Rogue) "I wish you peace..." (Bobby) "...and peace I give you." (Jubilee)  
  
Everybody started retreating to their bedrooms, thrilled for the next morning of not 11, but 13 members at the breakfast table. Talk about a growing population!   
  
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To be continued... 


	2. A Day at School

Kitty and Pietro  
  
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Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
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Chapter 2: A Day at School  
  
"Wakey, wakey, Kätzchen," there came a familiar voice. Kitty flipped herself to the other side of her bed and drew the covers over her head. "I wanna sleep... *yawn* I like don't wanna wake up," Kitty groaned under the covers.   
  
"Okay! That's it, Kurt. You'll never accomplish like that. Watch this..." Rogue went over to Kitty's side, she bent down slightly to get closer to her ears, "Oh my goodness! It's Ewan McGregor!"   
  
"What! Where?" Kitty pranced out of her bed, only to see his poster on the wall, ~duped again.~ "Rogue! It's all your fault! You made me like get up in the middle of the night yesterday, and now what!" Kitty folded her arms and shot a menacing stare at her. "Kitty, sorry, but it's already 8 and... School's starting at 8.45!"  
  
Kitty jumped at Rogue's sudden reminder. "Oh no! I'm like gonna be so late! I'm like never late before!" Kitty sprinted all the way to the bathroom and phased through the door, she was too lazy to even open it. Then, after washing up, she changed into her usual white spaghetti top and pink cardigan with her blue jean capris. With a single snatch of her bag pack, she phased through the floor and rushed into the dining to join the rest of the X-Men for breakfast.   
  
"Good morning, pretty Kitty!" Lance waved slightly and patted the empty seat next to him, motioning for her to take the seat. Kitty almost arched a brow at that nick but smiled sweetly, "Hi Lance, like thanks..." Lance was sipping at his cup of milk and he almost choked when Kitty cast her attractive beam. "Are you like, okay?" Kitty asked with concern. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she tilted her head a little to see if Lance was all right, while patting on his back gently. "Yeah, Kitty, I'm fine. Thanks."  
  
"By the way, did any of you guys see Pietro?" Lance asked with his gloved fist still over his mouth.  
  
Kitty looked up at everyone who exchanged ~like-we-know~ looks. It was truly weird that no one saw him at the table. Not even Ororo who got up the earliest to make breakfast. Kitty glanced at the clock hung on the wall, 8.30.   
  
"Well, we don't have time to worry about Maximoff. It's getting late now, everyone into the car." Scott broke the barter of glances. All the young mutants got up and started walking towards the garage. Suddenly there was streak of white that made a pass towards the door. The door opened out widely, letting the bright sunlight spill into the mansion. Kitty's frinch flew up as it flashed pass her.   
  
"Haha! Can't beat me! Last one to the car is a loser!" to everyone's amazement, it was the young albino that ended up at the door first before everyone did, with half a sandwich in his left hand and his bag in the other.   
  
"Pietro? So that's, like, your power! Amazing!" Kitty burst into her little valley girl talk. Lance shot an uninterested expression to Pietro and he just shrugged. "Come on, Kitty. You don't wanna be late, right?" Lance took her wrist and led her to where he parked his jeep.   
  
"Lance! Like you got a car?" Kitty said as she rubbed her two hands together. "Uh-huh. Here, want a ride to school together?" Kitty nodded at his offer and they took off almost immediately.   
  
* * *   
  
Once they had reached school, Lance got his class schedule from Principal Darkholme. It was his first day at Bayville High but he straight away became a senior due to his age, however, he was a little upset when he knew that his locker was situated a couple of turnings from Kitty's. Kitty on the other hand was a freshman. But despite her age, she was taking advanced levels in most of her subjects. Kitty was born a genius to tell the truth.  
  
The classes seemed to have swift pass faster then usual... except for some other ones. Kitty felt terrible every first day of a new term. This time around... it was seriously worst. ~Like why the hell must I be in the same classes as the albino weirdo for Computer Sciences, Honours English, Honours Social Studies, Pure Chemisty, Gym and Trigonometry... urgh?!~ Kitty definitely was not enjoying his so-called "cool" attitude. Just before Trigonometry he was already flirting with a blonde cheerleader... at her locker! ~Oh, like talk about retards!~ Kitty thought to herself. And for the rest of the lesson, Pietro had been flying paper aeroplanes. ~Like isn't that childish or childish? Damn him!~ Kitty just had to shrug off one or two infuriating planes that landed most unfortunately at her shoulders. "I'm not gonna blow. I'm not gonna blow. I'm not..."   
  
Soon, the school bell rang, which indicated that it was lunch. Everyone started rushing towards the door like a stampede, oblivious of the teacher screaming her lungs out to remind them of their assignment. "At last! Finally! I'm free!" Kitty embraced herself. She strolled towards her locker where Pietro was flirting once again. This time, it was a different blonde. ~Eewww...~  
  
"Like go elsewhere to make out Pietro! You're affecting my locker!" Kitty pushed Pietro aside and he almost lost his balance. "Yeah Pryde! Like of course I would!" Pietro tried to impersonate Kitty's valley girl slang. "Argh! You're, like, such an irritating bastard!" Kitty crossed her arms in fury.   
  
Just then, Jean was approaching her and waved to get her attention, "Hi Kitty!" Kitty snapped out of her ferocity and waved back at the red head, "Hi Jean! Like what's up?" "Nothing really, Kitty, but I need you to do me, no, actually it's the institute a little favour." Jean continued. "Well, like what?" Kitty raised an eyebrow, ~what could be it that neither Jean nor the institute can do by themselves?~ "Kitty... You see, one of the X-Men came from a very complicated past that had an effect on his attitude. I need you to help him."  
  
"I'll try but, like, who is he?" Kitty tried to absorb Jean's request.   
  
"It's Pietro Maximoff," as Jean mouthed out the two words, they pierced mercilessly into Kitty's ears.  
  
"Like, no! Never! Ever! Over my dead body!" Kitty totally freaked out. ~What? That pest? Like, no way!~  
  
"Kitty... please. You are always the one who can socialise with new recruits real well. This one shouldn't be a problem. Come on Kitty... for the institute." Jean was trying desperately to coax Kitty into helping out. Kitty just couldn't stand him... ~shouldn't be a problem? I doubt so!~ Kitty thought silently. She was unaware that Jean could read her thoughts.   
  
"Come on Kitty... if you don't, it'll be worst for you then you think. Take that as an order." Jean finally approached to the good old hard way. ~Like, do I have a choice?~ Kitty reasoned again. "No." Jean replied for her.  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Upset

Kitty and Pietro  
  
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Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
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Chapter 3: Upset  
  
Next day at school...  
"Pietro, I need to have a word with you," Pietro was about to get to his first class when Jean stopped over at his locker. "Yes? Wassup? BeQuickAboutIt."   
  
"Okay. Today after school, meet at Kitty's locker. I've instructed her to introduce you around since you are still new." Jean was expecting him to freak out, but instead Pietro just said, "No problem" totally impassively.  
  
~Damn it! Like of all people, why me?~ Kitty felt like the sky was falling over her. She wouldn't want to imagine how she's going to "socialise" with the albino. Classes seemed to just slip past her notice. Every new class, when Pietro would pass her table, she could feel an uncomfortable queasiness inside of her. Jean sure was putting her in a dilemma.   
  
"Class dismissed. Remember to finish your 2500 word reports on World War II and the Vietnam War," the teacher sprang out a last reminder to the class. "W-What? Social Studies' over?" Kitty was still in her blurry state. Kitty shoved her lecture pad into her bag and headed for her locker. She was expecting Pietro to be flirting with another numbskull. But no. Pietro was just leaning against her locker. Kitty hung her head down. ~I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't...~ she tried chanting on to straighten her thoughts, but to no avail.   
  
"Hey Pryde. Red told me..." Pietro stared at the girl in pink as she wrapped her arms tighter around her book. She seemed ignorant of his presence. "Earth to Pryde!" Pietro's curiosity grew as he watched the young mutant shoved him away from her locker. She grabbed her schedule. ~Huh? School's ended?~ She thought hesitantly. Kitty slammed her locker door shut then looked up at Pietro.   
  
"You think I like being with you? Well, like, you're wrong!" Kitty just blurted out those words. At first she wasn't aware of what she was babbling about. But a few seconds later, Kitty's hands were wrapped over her mouth, ~what did I just said?~ She seemed lost in thought. Her mind in a blank state. It was then that a bitchy voice snapped her back to reality, her azure blue eyes could only meet a thoroughly confused expression.   
  
"Hi! You must be Pietro! I'm Laura. I've heard so much about you from the other cheerleaders. Oh, you look so much better than I've imagined! And you must be new here. Let me show you around, okay?" another blonde "chick" got the hots for Maximoff again. This time, Pietro wasn't as keen. He had an urge to look deeper into those blue eyes before him.   
  
"Take him. He's all yours. Just remind him to be home before dinner." Kitty broke the awkward silence and it held Pietro dumbfounded. ~What? Pryde how could you make me suffer!~ Pietro thought. He guess he was tired of blonde brained cheer-freaks. All this took place in his mind for 2 seconds, after which Kitty started walking away.   
  
"Yo Kitty! Want a ride home? Oh, or must you take care of Pietro for Jean?" Lance Alvers caught up with the dreamy freshman ignoring Pietro's poignant stares. "Sure! Why not. Well, let's just, like, say that someone volunteered to be my substitute." Kitty soon found herself back to her normal bubbly self again when the Avalanche tried cheering her up.   
  
"Come on Pietro. I've got lots to show you!" the blonde tugged at his arm, while the sophomore just pressed on a weak and reluctant smile. ~Pryde, you'll pay for this...~   
  
* * *   
  
Pietro stride towards an empty desk beside Kitty during Honours English and seated down. Kitty looked up from her disturbed position upon realising Maximoff's presence. She stared at him for a few seconds, trying to reason why he had a change of seat.   
  
"So like how was it with the blonde chick?" Kitty gave a slight nod followed by a mere smile.   
  
"It was great! Very good... -all thanks to you-," Pietro emphsised "all thanks to you" obviously he tried to mean that it was all her fault, but Kitty's smile seemed to transform into a grin. She giggled a little, insensible to Pietro's already flaming eyes. The sophomore was still indeed mad at the freshman.   
  
More than half the lesson had already passed...  
"All right now. With that, I end Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet". Now let's spend the last 15 minutes on Poetry. To kick a start, I would one each of you to write a brief poem on the person sitting beside you. Any questions? If not, you may start now. I give you all 10 minutes from now."  
  
~What? Bloody Pietro! Like, no way teach'!~ Kitty thought staring at the grinning albino while raising her eyebrow. ~Like, don't even think about it~, Kitty heaved a depressing sigh. ~Great! This is my chance to get back at her for what she's done to me yesterday! Hehe~, Pietro spread a devilish smirk across his face.  
  
Kitty couldn't think of anything to write about. She practically didn't treat his existence. All she knows is that he's an irritating, idiotic, troublemaking albino flirt. And nothing that rhymes seems to get into her head. She winced a little when she saw Pietro scribbling away. ~Goodness! I, like, don't wanna imagine what shit he's gonna write 'bout me! Urgh!~ Just then, the teacher walked pass her table.   
  
"Kitty, why aren't you writing? Is there nothing you know about Pietro?" she asked with one of her freaky stares. Kitty shivered at her comment but managed to reply, "Absolutely nothing, m'am." "All right then, but no matter what, you still have to write at least something down."  
  
"All right. Times up. Who would volunteer to read your poem to the class?" the teacher looked around and her thin lips turned into a wide smile when Pietro shot his hand up in the air. "Okay, Mr Maximoff, you may begin." Kitty was utterly shocked. ~This freak is capable of anything!~ She's gonna regret she'd ever known him.  
  
Pietro cleared his throat, while Kitty tried not to pay any attention to him. However, it was too difficult. She didn't want to hear what he's written, yet she wanted to find out what it is. Kitty looked down at her table, her hands shuffling each other.   
  
* * *   
  
"There was once a girl so timid and shy,   
Who'd never have friends, I wonder why?   
Her sentences always includes a "like",   
That valley girl talk annoys me, yike!   
I've never once seen her change her outfit,   
Maybe from all the Cat food she eats.   
Her parents should be sick of her,   
So sick of their little pea-brained girl.   
Perhaps one day they might be forced,   
Be away with each other and get a divorce.   
She certainly never will get a boyfriend,   
'Cause she just don't fit in, you get me m'am?   
She daydreams of celebrities, oh so cool,   
If you would have notice, she even drools.   
And her middle name's got to be "up-tight",   
Oh, she's none other then Kitty Pryde."  
  
* * *   
  
"Oh, that was an excellent poem. Mr Maximoff, I'm truly impressed by how much you have written in such a short time. Good job."   
  
By then, Kitty was already at the verge of crying. Her blue eyes had tears brimming a little inside as she tried to resist herself from spilling out. Indeed, her parents would have gotten a divorce on the night she first realised her powers. Though they didn't, Kitty was still rather traumatic with it. "Miss Pryde, would you like to read -yours-?" the teacher's screeching voice burst her thoughts. The poor freshman still couldn't contain her emotions. ~Why? Like what did I do to deserve this?~  
  
"I-I..." Kitty felt dumbfounded. Her entire class was already bursting into roars of laughter. Her heart felt as if a huge rock had rested in it. So heavy. She had that sinking feeling already. R-R-I-I-N-N-G-G! The school bell rang indicating that school had ended. Kitty was saved. But the humiliation had a great impact on her emotions. She didn't even bother to thank the teacher before dashing out of the class. She got to a locker, but she wasn't as fast as Pietro.   
  
"You like that poem?" Pietro snickered in his words. "Go away! I don't wanna, like, ever see you again!" with that, Kitty started running towards the cafeteria with her left arm over her wet eyes.   
  
* * *   
  
Kitty sat listlessly at an empty table. The rush of students had long disappeared. There in front of her was just a can of soda. She didn't have the appetite for food at that moment. Just then, a familiar voice was heard, "Hello Keetie!" It was indeed Kurt. He took a seat beside her, he realised how dejected his good friend was. "Keetie... are you all right? If zere's anyzing bothering you, you can alwayz tell me," Kurt tried to comfort her reassuringly. Kitty just shook her head, then she buried her faced into her hands and wept.   
  
Kurt could just feel his heart sink. He had never seen Kitty so upset before. Did someone bully her? If it were, he would swear to teach that guy a lesson. But right then, Kitty seemed as though she didn't want to talk about it.   
  
"Keetie, I understand if you don't vant to talk about it. But if you vant, I can lend you my shoulder to..." Kurt was about to finish his sentence before Kitty wrapped her arms around him and cried on his shoulder. Kurt smiled a little and stroked her head to calm her down. ~Vhatever it was, I didn't like whomever who caused it.~  
  
The both were oblivious of a young albino mutant that sat at a corner of the cafeteria watching the whole scene even before Kurt showed up. "Yes, I did get my revenge on her. But how come I don't feel that happy? Did I really hurt her? What I said wasn't all true, right?" Pietro muttered to himself. The questions flooded his mind. He tried shaking his head to get rid of the thought, but then he realised he really did something, and his heart felt different. It was once confined to the stone cold, merciless ice. However, it now seemed to have broken free and started to taste the likes of sentiments...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	4. Warped and Twisted or Forgive Me?

Kitty and Pietro  
  
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Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 4: Warped and Twisted or Forgive Me?  
  
At the Institute...  
"Hey, Guys! Like, what's for dinner?" Kitty tried forgetting what had took place during school by putting on a bubbly front. "Keetie, are you sure you're alright?" Kurt asked as he laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, sure! Like, why not? I'm starving, can we, like, dig in?" Kitty didn't want the other X-Men to get worried over her. ~Anyway, it's just a stupid poem. I, like, shouldn't let it disturb me~, she thought.  
  
Just then, Pietro came to the table. He seemed like his normal self though. Kitty suddenly didn't feel like eating anymore. She can't stand seeing a jerk even from 100 metres away. Especially this one.  
  
"Erm... I would like to be excused. Don't think I'd, like, have the appetite anymore," Kitty got up from her seat about after 10 minutes at the table.  
  
"Kurt, do you know what's wrong with Kitty?" Scott started asking, followed by a barter of questions pouring at the blue mutant. "I'm a little worried about Half-pint too," (Wolverine). "Is pretty Kitty okay? Maybe I can cheer her up." (Lance) "Yo dude, just spill it man!" (Evan) "I'm also worried of that girl, she's so vulnerable sometimes." (Ororo) "There goes my roomy!" (Rogue) "Oh dear..." (Bobby) "Hey, maybe we should give Kurt a chance to answer us, you know." (Jubilee)  
  
"Erm... Vell, I'm not very sure myself. She just started veeping after school. I think some one had bullied Kätchen. If I vind out who it is, I'll teach him a lesson!" Kurt said in a very serious tone. "Same goes for me. If I know who that freak is, he'll be damn sorry." Lance punched his fist into his other hand forcefully. "Me three, Half-pint shall see to it." Logan was always protective of Kitty; he treated her as if she were his younger sister. Pietro gulped down his saliva. He almost choked out his dinner when he heard the anger in those mutants.  
  
"All right now. I think we should just finish up this dinner and talk about that later." Professor Xavier was worried too, yet he wasn't as worked up as the rest.   
  
* * *   
  
Pietro was in his room. Dinner had just ended with more questions than ever. He tried to ease his mind by resting on his desk, but what only happened was that his mind was re-playing the whole scene during Honours English. He didn't really thought it had such an impact on her. Now she would never wanna talk to him, and he felt a little guilty stricken as he thought about the one person who had caused such a commotion in the Institute... was him.   
  
It was then that he heard someone walking past his room. The footsteps had clearly denoted that it was Kurt. Pietro flung open his door. "Blue boy! I would want to tell you something. Come in,"  
  
Kurt did as he was told. "Yes Quicksilver. Is anything ze matter?" Pietro opened his mouth, but no words seemed to come out. He didn't know where to begin. At last, he took the easiest yet the more painstaking way, the truth, and nothing but the truth.   
  
"I was the one." Pietro frowned when he saw Kurt's confused expression. "Vhat do you mean by zat Pietro?" Kurt wasn't quite sure what he meant. Maybe it was too direct. "I meant that, I was the one who made Pryde so sad, happy now? Come on and bash me up then!" Pietro couldn't bottle up his thoughts anymore; he just confessed the whole thing. "You? It was you? But vhat happened? Don't vorry, I von't bash you up,"  
  
"You see, Kurt, I wrote this really mean, maybe just a little mean poem about her for Honours English. And I didn't know that she would become so upset... I mean I just wanted a little sweet revenge for what she did to me yesterday..." Pietro grabbed the piece of paper where he wrote the poem. He handed it to Kurt and then looked away.   
  
Kurt took the piece of paper. He slowly scanned through the words at each sentence though, his eyes widened in shock. "How did she know about zis poem?" Kurt finally tore the peace. "I volunteered to read it to the class," Pietro admitted. Kurt's jaw fell to the floor. "If it's me, I vould also be very mad."  
  
"Do you know, that Keetie once told be zat her parents vanted a divorce on ze night vhen she knew her powers? She vas very upset. Till now, her parents zid not decide on zat till her powers vere stabilized, but she's still not sure vhether zhey vould separate. She's very sensitive of zat, you know."  
  
~No wonder she was so upset, how would I ever apologise if she doesn't even wanna talk to me?~ Pietro felt very remorseful. He didn't know why vengeance was so important at that time. "I'm really sorry I've did that. Now I feel so bad..." Pietro said. "Vell, you can alvays aplogise you know."  
  
With that, Pietro had an idea flickered into his brain. He thanked Kurt for helping him cope with it, and for his advice not to let Lance and Logan know about it, before he left. Pietro had remembered the teacher expecting a graded poetry assignment by tomorrow, and it could be of any topic. He was sure of what to write now.   
  
However, on the other hand, Kitty locked herself in her room. She thought maybe by expressing her sadness in that graded poetry assignment of her, which would be handed in the next day, could free her from her depression. She wouldn't want to talk about it, so how 'bout write about it.   
  
* * *   
  
Next day, during Honours English...  
"I've read through all your poetry assignments and I've picked out two among them that gave me the best impression." The teacher took the first two pieces of paper from the stack and started reading the top-most one.   
  
* * *   
  
*Warped and Twisted*  
  
Harsh words and violent blows,  
Hidden secrets nobody knows.  
My eyes are open, my hands are fisted,  
And deep inside I'm warped & twisted.  
So many tricks and so many lies,  
Too many whens and too many whys.  
Some people's special, some are just gifted;  
I'm just me, warped & twisted.  
Sleeping awake and choking on a dream,  
Listening loudly to a silent scream.  
Call my mind, the number's unlisted,  
Lost in someone so warped and twisted.  
On my knees, alive but dead,  
Look at the invisible blood I've bled.  
I'm not gone, my mind has drifted,  
Don't expect much, I'm warped and twisted.  
Burnt out, wasted, empty, and hollow,  
Today's just yesterday's tomorrow.  
The sun died out, the ashes sifted,  
I'm still here, warped and twisted.  
  
* * *   
  
"Don't you all agree it's a masterpiece? And for your information, it was written by Miss Pryde. She has done an excellent job. I gave her an A+." the students applauded as Kitty sat stiffly upright from her seat. There were a few whispers here and there, and the occasional sniffing sounds heard from some of the girls. Indeed, the poem was truly touching; it stirred an atmosphere of innermost grievance and self-pity.   
  
"All right now, we have a tide with another poem, it's entitled Forgive Me," the teacher paced around the classroom slowly, she once again read out the literary piece.   
  
* * *   
  
*Forgive Me*  
  
My mouth opened a slight ajar,  
I wanted to tell you, but you seemed too far.  
The words did not spill, my heart getting frail,  
But no matter what I do, I couldn't deal.  
I must admit I've made a mistake,  
So foolish it was and the price I paid.   
I wasn't sensitive; my heart didn't melt,  
I'm sorry I've neglected what you felt.  
Now that memory back in a -shadow-,  
The guiltiness in me had started to grow.   
I gazed at the moon, mesmerized like that,  
It sort of resembles the eye of a -cat-.   
I want you to know that I feel so sorry,  
My heart in remorse, please Forgive Me.  
  
* * *   
  
The teacher stopped at Pietro's seat by the time the poem had ended. "You have impressed me once again Mr Maximoff. Tell me something, why in the poem did you bold the words "shadow" and "cat"?"   
  
"Well, let's just say it has a sentimental meaning to it..." Pietro converted his gaze to Kitty who by now was knotting her fingers in bafflement.   
  
* * *   
  
School has just ended, and Kitty was putting back some books into her locker...  
"Did you like it? Pryde, I'm sorry. Please forgive me, please..." the figure beside her uttered out the words to her, too abruptly in fact. Kitty couldn't absorb its impact, it was hard to just forgive him all so suddenly. She pushed him aside then ran out of the school.   
  
All Kitty had wanted was to go home and rest. Then, as she was about to cross the road, unaware of a speeding van, she felt an arm around her waist, gripping her firmly. "I know you're depressed, I'm seriously sorry, k? But you don't have to commit suicide!" came a voice with a tone of anxiety and apprehension mingled in it.   
  
"Huh?" Kitty was confused. Yet at that second or two, she felt a gust of strong wind blowing against her bangs as a van zoomed past horning at her. She looked up, only to see concern in a pair of grayish blue eyes. Then higher a little was that familiar white hair. ~He saved me? No, I won't fall for that~, Kitty thought.   
  
"I know you hate me, Maximoff, and you don't have to act kind-hearted. But guess what... I HATE you too." Kitty freed herself from his grasp around her waist. She was about to leave when someone caught her elbow and pulled her back. That same person then hugged her in his arms.   
  
"Kitty, please..." the tender voice blew gently into her ears. Kitty was already in tears. Then a thought just came into her mind: ~Was that the first time he'd said my name?~ The freshman dropped her book in surprise. "Ouch! My foot!" Pietro loosened his grip entirely off her. Kitty bent down to pick up her book. "Sorry..." she said with a sweet smile. At that moment, Pietro stopped groaning.   
  
"Does that mean you forgive me?" he asked. And a nod was his reply.  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	5. Chemistry

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 5: Chemistry   
  
It had been a week since the incident when Pietro apologised to her. Throughout the whole week, they've gone back to their normal routine: Pietro and some blonde cheer-freak, Kitty and herself, actually with the occasional encounters with Lance or Kurt. The good old days...   
  
"Mr Maximoff! May-You-Like-Get-Away-From-My-Locker!" Kitty would shout at least once a day when Pietro always make out from his locker and ends up at her locker. ~Weird~, she thought.  
  
"Okay, okay. I don't see what's the big deal, Pryde!" the sophomore albino would in turn screech. Yup, its back to "Pryde", the word "Kitty" was only mentioned the first time, which was also its last... probably.   
  
* * *   
  
In Kitty's room...  
~Great! I thought that coming to the last question would be a blessing, but NO... teacher wanna give me a hard to get life! I don't understand! I keep trying and trying and TRYING, but I can't get the answer! Urgh!~ Kitty was annoyed. She never really liked Pure Chemistry. Perhaps sometimes or rather, she would top the class, but she still hates it. It uses up a lot of brain energy. And she gets all groggy afterwards.   
  
"Rogue, can you, like, come here for a while?" Kitty called over to her roomy. "Yeah, wassup?" Rogue replied as she removed her earphones. "Do you like, know how to do this question?"  
  
"Don't even think about it man! Kitty, I don't take Pure Chem.!" Rogue twisted a face in awkwardness at the question. ~Yikes, baby, what the hell is that?~ She churned her brain.   
  
"Oh... It's ok... I, like, figured out you don't know." Kitty sighed. She just have to get this done or she'll never get to sleep. It's due the next day, which was seriously making things harder for her.   
  
"Kitty... do you know what? YOU CAN ASK PIETRO!" Rogue tried to hammer back the thought of Pietro being in the same Chemistry class as Kitty into the freshman's head. "B-but... I can't. It'll be so, like, humiliating!" Kitty shrugged at the thought. "Oh yeah, that's all I need to hear, baby. Don't ask Maximoff, and you'll never get your 40 winks."  
  
Eventually, Kitty got off her chair, went out of her room with her paper and pen, and started to approach Pietro's room. Then she took a deep breath before knocking lightly at his door. "Come in," said the voice inside. Kitty calmed herself down a little before entering the room. It was neat, definitely not what she expected out of a guy. Too neat, it was clean and all tidied and organised. ~Whoa...~  
  
"Hi Pietro. Erm... I'm, like, sorry to disturb you... I-I... Well, the thing is..." Kitty found it harder to speak to him in his room. She had a really strange, up-tight feeling. "It's okay, here, take a seat." Pietro pulled another swivel chair next to his, to the right, and motioned Kitty to sit. Kitty smiled a little in gratitude.   
  
"Well... have you, like, done your Chemistry homework?" Kitty asked. By then, she felt his hospitality more reassuring. "Oh, I'm doing the last question now," he replied. "Erm... the thing is that, I don't, like, know how to do that. That's why I'm here and..." Kitty found her head lowering down, avoiding his eyes.   
  
"Haha! Come on, just say you want me to tutor you!" Pietro grinned triumphantly. "Like, no way! Dream on, Maximoff!" Kitty argued back. Suddenly, Pietro stopped his snickering. He started to realise something different about Kitty. Then he realised what it was. "Ooh... I'd never thought you would wear anything that bears your shoulders," he commented. Kitty looked at herself. She was wearing a white spaghetti top with a pair of sky blue shorts that revealed her slender legs.   
  
"What about it? I don't see what's so great, I always where like this when I go to bed." She said folding her arms. "I dunno, you look prettier like this, Pryde," Pietro scanned her from head to toe once again. But when he scanned back from toe to head, he felt something large and soft hit his head.   
  
"Take that, you pervert!" Kitty grabbed his pillow and hit him hard on his head, while laughing away hysterically. "Haha! Okay, stop it, girl!" Pietro shouted. "Okay. Like, hurry up and teach me, -Teacher-!" Kitty demanded.   
  
A few minutes later...  
"Oh! I get it. How come I didn't, like, thought of it before?" Kitty said. "Ha! Told you I was smart." Pietro started boosting his ego. "Yeah right! But then again, you are quite smart, in -some- ways..." Kitty replied. She then turned her attention back to her paper and started scribbling the formulas and working out the answers. At last, she finished. Kitty looked at the time: 10.40p.m.   
  
"Oh dear! It's, like, way past my bedtime already," Kitty gasped. She turned her head to the young mutant beside her, resting his head on the desk and already asleep. ~I'd better wake him up, he would catch a cold or rather it certainly would be much comfortable sleeping on the bed instead~, Kitty thought. "Wakey, wakey..." Kitty found a feather-pen in his stationery holder and started tickling his nose.   
"Huh?" Pietro's eyelids slowly opened up. *Aah-choo!* He sneezed. Among the first things that he heard was Kitty's uncontrollable laughter. "Come on, little boy, go to your bed and sleep. Don't catch a cold here." Just then, Pietro's eyes seemed transfixed to the brunette's blue ones. So mesmerizing, so perfect. Unconsciously, he seemed to be drawn to her. He felt his head moving closer and closer to hers, but he didn't bother to resist. Kitty realised that both their faces were approximately 2 inches apart. Their eyes were spellbound by each other's. If she hadn't snapped out of it, they would have probably... kissed.   
  
"Erm... Well, thanks for everything. It's really, like, getting late, so you should go to sleep earlier. Bye," Kitty picked up her paper and pen and went out of the room hastily. Pietro, however, tried to straighten his thoughts. ~What was I thinking? We can't possibly... no, we almost. I can't believe it...~  
  
~Oh my goodness! No, it can't be. Was Pietro trying to kiss me just then? No, it's an illusion. I'm just too exhausted.~ Kitty, on the other hand, was reassuring herself that it was the result of her weariness that caused her to hallucinate. But deep down she knew it was reality.   
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	6. Camp

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 6: Camp  
  
"Good morning, I see all of you are here," said the Professor. A term has ended and they all had one week of holiday to spare. However, the Professor had other plans. "In this one week of holiday, I will assign you all on a trip to an island up north. There, is not for you to play, but it has an ideal environment for all of you to exercise your powers in a real jungle situation," he continued. By then, moans and groans were flooding the entire room.   
  
"This is a very good opportunity and I hope all of you will enjoy it."   
  
"Oh man! I can't believe it" (Evan) "There goes the all-girls night!" (Jubilee) "Jungle... Urgh!" (Rogue) "Oh joy." (Kitty) yadda, yadda, yadda...  
  
"All right now, I know all of you are excited. Now I shall be pairing you up for the camp," said the Professor, breaking the chain of protests.   
  
~Ooh... I hope I'd get paired with my Kitty~, Lance thought, trying to stretch an arm to her shoulder before Kurt slapped off his hand. ~Don't even think about it, Avalanche~, Kurt flinched. ~If only Jubilee gets to be my partner~, Bobby contemplated. ~I'd don't mind Lancey-boy, but he got the hots for Pryde~, Rogue flashed through the thought.  
  
"Okay, I'll be reading out your pairing," the Professor cleared his throat before continuing, "Jean and Scott..." ~Oh yes! Yes!~ Scott thinks. While Jean who'd read his mind, narrowed her eyes at him. "...Kurt and Evan..." The both boys gave each other a hi-five. "...Bobby and Jubilee..." ~Oh my, my prayers are answered~, Bobby bounced up and down with glee. Jubilee just stared at his strange reaction. "...Lance and Rogue..." ~Let it be Kitty, let it be Kitty... Argh! What luck!~ (Lance). Rogue on the other hand, ~I knew he hates it, but who cares.~ "Lastly, Kitty and Pietro." Kitty stared at him, while remembering that day when they had the Chemistry tution and shrugged to get rid of it. Pietro, however, tried to hide his grin and laughter. Laughter because Lance was giving him the "you-better-watch-out" mixed with "this-time-you're-lucky" kind of look.  
  
* * *   
  
Everyone hence went back to his or her respective rooms to pack up for the next day...  
Kitty stuffed in some clothes and a swimsuit (as what the Professor had instructed) into her haversack. There wasn't much to bring, accept for those and not forgetting a compass, just in case. Meanwhile, Pietro had long packed everything into his rucksack in approximately 3 seconds. He was now resting on his bed hoping to have the best of his ability the next morning.  
  
* * *   
  
The next day, everyone was up and early, clad in their X-Men costumes and already seated in the X-Jet with their respective partners. Kitty and Pietro was seated in front of Lance and Rogue (both Kitty and Lance got the window seats).   
  
"Hey, Lancey-boy, whatever you do, don't puke those onto me!" Rogue warned her partner whose face was already half buried into an airsick bag. Kitty knew Lance always felt like vomiting whenever he's on the X-Jet. And so she offered her airsick bag to him, since she didn't need it, "Here, you can have mine. Next time, don't, like, eat too much before the ride." "Thanks pretty Kitty, you always treat me so well." ~Oh brother!~ (Rogue thought to herself).  
  
"Kitty, please sit down properly and put on your seat belt," Jean shouted from way up front. "Don't worry, Jean, like, nothing will happen to me, I've got the window seat anyway." Kitty shot back her reply. All of a sudden, the X-Jet swerved to the left. Kitty lost her balance and...*plop*... she fell right onto Pietro's laps, who by then looked utterly shocked. He got his strong arms supporting her entire body. Fortunately, Kitty was light, if not... (Don't even wanna think about it, just imagine the Blob). The duo blushed a little until interrupted by Lance's rebuke, "Get your dirty hands of her, Maximoff!"   
  
Kitty giggled, then straightened herself to get back at her seat. This time, she remembered to have on her buckle. She looked out at the azure sky and fluffy clouds, and way underneath was like a carpet of greenery, totally breathtaking. From the window, she could also see Pietro's reflection. She took a quick glance and found him turning his head away in embarrassment. Kitty couldn't help but flushed red again.   
  
* * *   
  
At long last, they have reached the little island covered by a canopy of trees. When they got onto land, they were escorted by Logan to a nearby campsite with cabins prepared for them. "Here we are. First thing, is to put all your bags into any cabin. Two people to a cabin. Which means you and your partner. Hurry along now."  
  
After a minute of two... "All right. This is how we play the game. Everyone is to have one of these devices and a laser gun each. This game is similar to laser mania. You and your partner -must- work together to destroy your enemies, which are any other pairs. Five times hit by a laser gun and you're "dead". Any questions? Okay then, you have the whole day to play. Report back here as soon as possible once you have at least two shots at each other pair. Be alert in any situation. First one back wins!" With that, Logan issued out the devices and the laser guns. "Also, all of you will take different routes according to the map that I will give you, you may use your powers too of course."   
  
"Hey! No fair, dude! Pietro can speed back here before you can say 'quick'!" Evan protested. "Oh well then, he can only use his power when attacking his enemies. And Kurt cannot teleport back too. With no further ado, let the game begin!"  
  
* * *   
  
"My legs are so exhausted, Bobby... can't we take a little rest?" Jubilee complained. "No, we must stay alert at all times... come on..." Bobby helped her up. Just then, there came the sounds of rustlings from a nearby bush. "You are totally busted, dudes!" Evan jumped out from behind a tree, and shot spikes all around the two in a circle, trapping them from any escape. Jubilee started to generate sparkling energy streams, while Bobby tried to turn the spikes into ice then smashing them. However, they were too slow, Evan did a roll over and pointed his laser gun at Bobby's device, whereas Kurt teleported himself and appeared in mid-air, taking Jubilee by surprise and had a shot at her device.   
  
They ran off into the bushes and gave each other another hi-5. "2 down, 8 to go!" Suddenly, they ran straight into Lance and Rogue. "I'm gonna rock your world!" As Lance said that, he started a tremble beneath their feet. Kurt couldn't teleport as his concentration had been broken off by Avalanche. Rogue took the chance to absorb some of Kurt's power. She did a teleport in mid-air and fires her laser gun at the two helpless victims.   
  
Meanwhile...  
"Shh..." Kitty whispered, hushing out the speed demon. "Wassup, Pryde?" he questioned. "Follow me." Kitty grabbed hold of his hand and sneaked up to a bush. She brushed away some leaves, and out on a small clearing, were Evan and Kurt, Rogue and Lance, battling. It seemed the latter pair was on the winning side. Kitty drew Pietro nearer to her and whispered to him her plan. "You got it, Pryde!"  
  
Just then, as the four were still in the struggle, with Evan and Kurt attempting to make a come back, they noticed a flash of white light spinning round and round them in circles. They knew it was Pietro, but he was too fast for them to calculate his moves. Just then, Kitty phased through the ground, scaring the wits out of everyone. She took the chance and fired her aim at Kurt and Evan with perfect accuracy. Pietro stopped his "hypnosis" and before anyone could say, "Oh shit," he fired his laser at Lance and Rogue. The foursome tried to react as fast as they could, but Kitty grabbed Pietro's hand and she phased them out through the ground.   
  
"You were, like, totally awesome, Pietro!" Kitty praised the albino. "Phew, you were good yourself, girl. All right! 4 down, 4 more to go!" he replied enthusiastically.   
"Meet your doom!" a familiar voice came from behind them. The duo turned around to see Bobby and Jubilee. Fortunately, Pietro could react fast. He grabbed Kitty's arm and they went on a "merry-go-round" around the stunned younger twosome. Bobby suddenly turned all the trees around them and the ground into ice. With this aid, he can easily catch Pietro's reflection, and also, it will slow down his speed. Kitty was aware that he would use that trick. Jubilee, on the other hand, was working out sparks to interfere Pietro's vision, while Bobby prepared his laser gun. It seemed at that moment that Pietro and Kitty may fall under their hands, but it was a spark of genius that got Kitty's gifted intelligence to churn. As Bobby fired his laser, Kitty phased her partner and her through the ice, and they reappeared almost immediately behind them. As Pietro quickly finished Bobby off with another shot, Kitty phased herself through Jubilee. Her phasing field disrupted the girl's laser gun temporarily, and Kitty had the advantage of giving a shot at Jubilee's device.  
  
"Great! We've got, like, one more pair to go and we'll be outta here!" Kitty was already having the best warm-up. Pietro, on the other hand, had that feeling of Kitty being the best partner he could ever get, but he soon snapped out of it.  
  
"Scott! I can sense Kurt's and Evan's presence. They're nearby." Jean said. "Don't worry, those kids can't outsmart us that easily..." Scott chuckled back. Jean stared at him with an expression of doubt. "Oh yes we can, right Kurt?" Suddenly, there came Evan's voice from on top of them. Kurt and Evan jumped from a tree nearest to them and shot a device each. "2 more points for us, vight Evan?"   
  
Jean used a telekinesis to move a branch, and it came flying to Evan's legs, tripping him over. She then grabbed her laser gun and shot had his device. At the same time, Scott used his optic blast to break off the tree branch that Kurt was squatting on. Then, he too shot on his device while he falls. Upon reaching the ground, Kurt teleports Evan and himself out of there.   
  
"Peek-a-boo, seniors!" Kitty said as she phased out from the ground, then phasing both her hands through the laser guns of Jean and Scott, disrupting their function, just liked the one to Jubilee. "Now, Maximoff! Like, finish them off!" Kitty said. In a flash, the speed demon sped past them, at the same time firing at both their devices with precise. "See ya later, alligator!" Kitty waved good-bye to Jean and Scott while phasing Pietro and her through a tree. "And who was the smart-ass who said they can't outsmart us?" Jean narrowed her eyes at Scott, who just shrugged, "In a while, crocodile!" He sped away leaving Jean in pursuit of him.  
  
* * *   
  
Back at camp (where only Logan was waiting for them)...  
"Huh? It's starting to rain? But the Professor said..." Logan sniffed around. Then he caught sight of Ororo (Storm), high above the clouds. "Logan, can you hear me? Over, over." Storm called out through her walkie-talkie. "Yes, I copy you." "Logan, the Professor instructed me to create a wet weather. He said it would be more challenging for them. Don't be too surprised." "Okay, I read you. Over and out."  
  
* * *   
  
"Oh dear, it's, like, pouring. I'm all drenched! Damn it!" Kitty groaned. "Come on, Pryde," Pietro took her hand and in a blink of an eye, they were in a cozy, dark cave. It was seriously raining very heavily, the weather took both of them by surprise, but though they were out in the rain for a while before they came into the cave, they were already drenched from head to toe.   
  
"Wait here," Pietro said, as he was about to zoom out again. "Like, where are you going?" Kitty asked in amazement. "Don't worry, just go collect some wood, be right back," he replied before his shadow disappeared. ~Worried? About you? Like, dream on, Maximoff!~ Thought Kitty. A few seconds passed and he was back in a flash, he was so drenched that well, he looked like a faulty water tap, dripping wet. He already formed a pool of water underneath his feet in a second. Pietro laid all the wood on the rough ground. He took two sticks and rubbed them against each other with such force and speed that the fire lit up instantly.   
  
"Thanks." Kitty said. "No big deal... boy, am I soaked!" Pietro gasp at himself. Suddenly, he sneezed. "Oh damn, better get out of this." Before Kitty could say, "No", he was already out of his X-Men costume and had on a long track pants, but bearing his upper body. He sure had beautiful abs and undeniable muscles (not beefy). "Pietro, maybe you should, like, seek my approval before stripping or something..." Kitty stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "You can't even see me do that... and I was not stripping, it's called changing. Who told you to see anyway... unless..." a grin starts to form across his cheeky face. "Unless what? Like, I'm totally innocent. Don't drag me into it!" Kitty argued back defensively, while thinking, ~ am not checking him out... I am not checking him out... I am not...~  
  
"You were checking me out, were you, Pryde?"  
  
"Like, no way!"  
  
"Come on, admit it."  
  
"I most certainly do not! What is there to, like, admit about!" Just then... *A-choo!* ~Oops, now it's my turn... Stupid Pietro must have spread the flu to me!~  
  
"Ooh... I guess you better get out of those."  
  
"What? And risk being taken advantage of by you? Like, dream on!"  
  
"Am I that sort of person to you?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"I'm not, all right! I'm telling you! Suit yourself!" He turned around. Both people were divided by the fire and Pietro's costume that hung horizontally by the support of a wooden stick and 2 wooden stands.   
  
Kitty sniffed a little to free the blockage up her nose. She felt her whole body freezing. Yet being nearer to the fire wasn't of much help as her wet costume was sticking to her skin. Then she decided...  
  
"Hey, hey, what are you trying to do? You better not take advantage of ME!"  
  
"I'm not! Just, like, kindly turn away, okay?"  
  
"I wonder who said she'd never get out of her costume..." Pietro teased and turned away.  
  
"Urgh!" Kitty started to take off her costume. What were left covering her were just her sports-bra and a pair of tights (just imagine a workout attire). She then sat down uncomfortably on a rock. ~Two people, a guy and a girl alone, in a dimly lighted cave. What could possibly happen?~ She thought sarcastically. Just then, Kitty sneezed again. Her both hands started rubbing on her arms for warmth. Just then, she felt something hit her head.   
  
"Hey! What the..." She paused when she noticed it was a jacket. Pietro's jacket. "Here, take it," he said in a low voice. "Thanks."  
  
* * *   
  
Just then, Kitty had an idea! "Come on, Pietro, like, get your stuff and go." "What? Are you mad? It's still raining." "I know. But I've got an idea." Pietro did what Kitty had told him. Then, Kitty took his hand. She started using her phasing energy. They went right through the rain, and were not drench at all. Then, Pietro could feel that his feet were above the ground. He looked to his side and found Kitty concentrating really hard. Then, he felt a tug on his hand. "Quick, we should get right back to our cabin before I my power tires." "But how do we know how to get back?" Pietro asked. "Give me the map." Pietro took it out of his bag and handed it to his partner. Kitty, however, took out the compass that she brought. Lucky thing was that Kitty takes up Earth Science, and so her Geography knowledge was amongst the best.   
  
A few minutes dragged on with no signs of her power fading. And at last, they were the first to reached back to their cabin. Logan was extremely glad to see them. And what's even better, they not only won, but their devices weren't even shot once. Logan spoke through his device telling the rest of the teams to come back right after the rain stops. He then sends a message to Ororo for her to get rid of the gray clouds. While, Kitty and Pietro... well, they can't stop smiling at each other...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	7. Paradise

Kitty and Pietro   
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 7: Paradise   
  
"Great. I see that all of you managed to get back here," Logan said sternly. "You all had done extremely well. The winners for today's activity are... Kitty and Pietro. However, it is not about winning being the main objective, it's how you cooperate, work well together and using intelligence over strength."  
  
Everyone by then was very exhausted. There was an exchange of this-is-so-boring glances, which Logan had long already deciphered. Clearing his throat, he continued, "I'm sure now all you folks are hungry and tired. Well, go to your cabins, change into something casual and get your belongings. Meet me back here as soon as possible and you shall follow me."   
  
After a few minutes, everyone was gathered at their meeting place...  
"Yo Logan! Where are we going?" (Evan) "I van to go home..." (Kurt) "Don't mind me, but my stomach's protesting." (Bobby) "Like, I don't mind a warm shower." (Kitty) "Yawn!" (Rogue) etc.  
  
Logan rolled his eyes and grunted rudely, "Okay! Okay! Stop with the complaining! Just follow me!" ~Oh man, I can't believe Xavier's rewarding them! They don't pretty much deserve it more than me...~ Thought Logan, half-mumbling parts of his sentence.   
  
* * *   
  
After a while, Logan had led them to...  
"Holy shit!" (Evan) "My goodness!" (Jubilee) "I'm, like, totally speechless," (Kitty) "Paradise here we come!" (Bobby) "You can say that again." (Rogue) "The countless babes!" (Pietro) "Shut up!" (Lance)...  
  
Yes. The X-Men were brought to a tropical paradise at the far tip of the island along its coastal beaches. It definitely captured many exotic and breath-taking views. It had a fairly big hotel, a huge swimming pool, tropical sunshade and not to mention the lifeguards, brawns and bikinis.   
  
"All right! Snap out of it, you guys! The professor is letting you stay here to rest for only tonight and the next morning. Don't go rough on yourself. I can't believe he'd do this! Okay, follow me, and behave properly!" the familiar voice roared out upon their arrival.   
  
All of them thus went with Logan into the hotel. It was well decorated, which gave off a sense of professionalism yet a funky atmosphere. It's all about the sun and the beach! They reached the reception counter, and were greeted with a bow.   
  
"We would like to have 6 rooms please." Logan said. The friendly personnel nodded and then gave the keys to Logan. "Okay. Each of you will share a room with your respective partners. No complaining whatsoever." Without further hesitation, he issued out the keys and left saying a last, "Enjoy yourselves!"   
  
* * *   
  
Kitty was extremely thrilled! She hadn't expected something this fabulous from their trip. The first thing that got into her mind was to check out her room and slip into a warm bath. ~Oh no. Wait a minute. Correction... not my room, but rather me and Pietro's room... Great! That is all I need~ Kitty thought sarcastically. "Hey Pietro! P-Pietro? Where are you?" Kitty voiced out. She unfortunately did not have the keys to her room.   
  
It was then, in a flash of white streak, came her albino companion. "I know you miss me, right Kitty-cat?" he said, spreading a cheeky grin. "Like, no way. Where have you been?" Kitty asked after rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, our luggage are already in the room." "You know what... you shouldn't be showing off your powers here!" as Kitty lunched back her reply, her little device started flashing away.  
  
"This is Logan here. Meet at the Meridian Island Restaurant at the hotel's basement a.s.a.p. Do you read me?" came the familiar voice, hoarse through the tiny speakers. "Yeah, we got you. Over and out."  
  
Just as Pietro responded to Logan's instruction, he grabbed Kitty by her small, delicate wrist and pulled her away to their destination. "Come on, I'm totally starving!"  
  
* * *   
  
"Yo Professor! I ain't expect you here!" (Evan)   
  
"Well, did all of you enjoyed the trip?" (Professor Xavier)  
  
"Yeah man!" (Lance) "I'm, like, so glad it turned out a somewhat vacation or something!" (Kitty) "This is gonna be a long day..." (Bobby) *staring at Jubilee* "Whatever, I want to eat! I want to eat!" (Pietro) "Yeah, ve are all very hungry." (Kurt) "Hurry up with it guys!" (Rogue)  
  
It was after those exchange of comments did they start digging in as soon as the dishes were served. There was a variety of mouth-watering dishes set to satisfy your stomach. They all didn't hesitate of course. Soon, every single plate was swiped clean and there were more exchanges of dialogue throughout the whole "reunion" dinner.   
  
* * *   
  
After dinner...  
"Yawn! I'm tired. Last one to the door is a loser!" Pietro fooled around a little before dashing to the elevator. ~Urgh! That was, like, so childish! Haha.~ thought Kitty, a mouth twisted in disgust. At last, she managed to drag herself to her room door and gave it a little knock.   
  
It wasn't much of a surprise that a particular sophomore opened it and gave off something that sounded like, "Ha! Loser, loser, loser! So slow... I've already taken my bath before you stepped into the elevator!" "Like whatever, Pietro!" Kitty shoved his annoying presence away from the doorframe and plopped her lethargic self onto the soft bed.   
  
"Hey! Don't dirty the covers, will ya!" Pietro snorted angrily. Kitty rubbed her eyes a little, adjusting to the dim lighting of the hotel room. "Whatever. I'm, like, too lazy to argue with you. I'll go take a shower." With another long yawn, Kitty dragged her feet to the bathroom silently.   
  
* * *   
  
After a few minutes, Kitty emerged out of the bathroom wrapped only in a towel. Her wet hair was let loose and cascaded onto her fair, feminine shoulders.   
  
"Hey, hey! You don't have the room to yourself you know!" Pietro exclaimed when he his eyes fell on the delicate and slim figure. Kitty blushed. ~Oh no! I'm so muddle-headed!~ She was too used to changing in her room at the Institute. Yet now was a supposedly different situation. "I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean t-to..." she stammered a bit, face still a mere reddish glow. With that, she single-handedly took her clothes and dashed back into the bathroom.   
  
It didn't take long for the young lady to reappear into the room in a dark blue tank top with a pair of white shorts. Pietro realised the poor girl was still in a state of embarrassment and tried thinking of a way to get her mind off that insignificant accident.   
  
"Hey, Pryde. How come you don't phase out of your clothes?" Pietro asked. ~Oh damn! What the hell was I saying?~ He hit himself mentally. Kitty looked up. The blush disappeared in exchange of an insulted expression. Her eyes narrowed at the commenter.   
  
"Pietro Maximoff! You are a PERVERT!" Kitty shouted at him and started throwing pillows at his head. She giggled a bit at his helpless figure. ~Well, at least I've got her distracted for a while...~ Pietro thought again. He then realised that if he doesn't block her attacks, she'd be trashing the place.   
  
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry. It's a stupid question! Stop it, will ya!" Pietro spoke back while counter-attacking his "opponent" using the pillows left scattered on the carpeted flooring.   
  
* * *   
  
The two parties had not realised that they got closer and closer to each other during the course of their "duel". It was until they both snapped out of their childish act and noticed that they were only a few inches apart from each other.   
  
Pietro stared into those mesmerizing blue eyes that he had seen before many times, having the desire to look deep into them. Now they were in front of his own and the urge was growing. Unconsciously, he lifted a hand to tilt her chin slightly upwards towards him, and planted a short but unforgettable kiss.   
  
"I-I am very tired. Yes, I'm a little drowsy. I-I think I need to rest. Good night." Pietro managed to cough out those words in order to cover up for his rash action. Kitty was stunned. Her head hung down in discomfiture. ~W-What? He couldn't have... No, it didn't happen. Nothing ever did.~ She thought, dismissing the little blush that started to creep across her face.  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	8. Paradise II

Kitty and Pietro   
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 8: Paradise II  
  
In a flash, Pietro stood beside the bed. It was tempting, he wanted to just flop onto it. Not that he couldn't, but before he could, Kitty's voice sprang out.   
  
"Oh no! Like, how are we gonna sleep?" Kitty gasp in sheer "horror" at the sight of the queen sized bed. It should have been 2 single beds, not one queen sized bed. ~No way am I, like, gonna sleep on the same bed with THAT person!~   
  
The young freshman sprinted to the nearby phone, and called for room service. She wasn't aware of Pietro, still standing beside the bed, with his mouth ajar. "Hello, room service? My room is supposed to, like, have 2 single beds. Yeah, I would like to change to a room with those." Kitty said, eagerly pressing the phone closer to her ear. "I'm sorry, miss. We do not have anymore available room." Came the not-so-expected reply. "WHAT! It can't be! WHAT!" Kitty slammed the phone down and started talking to it.   
  
"E-Erm... Pryde, it's okay,"  
  
"It's okay? FOR YOU! NOT ME! Like, who would wanna sleep with YOU?"   
  
"Hey! I'm every girl's dream! YOU should be privileged!"   
  
"FAT HOPE!" Kitty scoffed one last bit of her controlled anger and crossed her arms in displeasure.   
  
The already irritated albino couldn't care less. He took off his t-shirt (only that, because he was not used to sleeping with a t-shirt). Kitty's eyes grew wider at the "obscene" sight. "Pietro Maximoff! What do you think you're doing?" Her voice grew louder with a half-lecture, half-questioning tone.   
  
"Sleeping. What else? Hey, if you don't like it, you can sleep on the floor. If not, you sleep beside me. I give you my word, I WON'T and DON'T WANT to INTERACT with YOU! I'm tired, take it or leave it."  
  
Kitty's eyes shifted from the comfy bed, to the hard, cold floor, then back to bed. ~The bed definitely looked better... B-but... no, I can't give in to that loser while he gets to sleep so comfortably!~ With that, she laid her still-tensed-up body on the soft bed, and pulled the covers up.   
  
"Okay. You face there and I'll face here. No turning, whatsoever." Kitty said, not wanting any kind of eye contact with the figure beside her.   
  
"Trust me, I WON'T want to..." Pietro soon fall back to sleep. The only lights, which were the bedside lamps, were turned off, and the room fell into dark silence.   
  
* * *   
  
During the night...  
Kitty tried to turn to the other side. Her left arm was getting numb from the weight of her body. Furthermore, she wasn't used to only sleeping on one side. Her usual nights would consist of several tossing and turnings. But she didn't want to forfeit her deal. She couldn't turn cause Pietro was just next to her and...  
  
Pietro yawned again. It was his twenty-first one. He was tired, yet he couldn't get much sleep as his right arm was "paralysed". ~I have to turn. Oww... but Pryde... forget about what she said. I bet it's alright for just a little turn for a little while. Besides, I'm not *that* sort of person~  
  
Meanwhile... Kitty was thinking, ~Well, not like he'll notice. He's already sleeping like a pig. Oh, I probably, like, forgot... he IS a PIG~ Kitty made up her last decision and tossed over, eyes still remained shut. But what she hadn't noticed was that Pietro did the same, at the same time. Great minds think alike? Well, I doubt so.   
  
Just as the brunette turned, a sigh of relief escaped from her mouth. But along with it, came like another similar one. Kitty's eyes drifted open, only to come face to face with... *GASP* Kitty let out one loud one. Pietro picked up the signal and opened his dreamy eyes. ~WHAT THE!~ He thought. Kitty didn't know how to react to the current situation, so she unconsciously gave away one of her infamous frowns. She lowered her head in embarrassment, not wanting to think further of how close their faces met with each other. ~Oh no, is he staring at me? This is so humiliating. My reputation is ruined!~ Kitty trained a line of thoughts. ~I can't believe it. Those eyes again... What was I thinking! Don't think of her like that. She don't deserve it!~ Pietro hit himself mentally.   
  
Just then, Kitty tossed to her other side, and the simple action broke all train of thoughts. What a night!  
  
* * *   
  
Next morning...  
Kitty felt her head resting against something soft. No, not her pillow. It felt so soft, yet a little hard. It's difficult to describe the feeling of it. However, Kitty didn't bother to contemplate what it was. It was morning. Kitty could feel the presence of light and warmth, as her senses became clearer, though she kept her weary eyes closed. A little yawn escaped from her. Kitty didn't feel like sleeping anymore, and it was probably time for her to wake up.   
  
Her eyes slowly fluttered open. Kitty felt that she seemed to be in an awkward position. She sniffed a bit, then her attention came to what her head had been resting on. *GASP* Her eyes widen in shock, as her line of vision came towards some fine, muscular abs. ~Oh my goodness! What happened? Pietro? Why was I sleeping on him? How...~ Before she could finish, a voice had interrupted her.   
  
"I see you've woke up." Pietro said looking down upon her.   
  
"Pietro? How come... No. You knew it, didn't you? Why didn't you wake me up?" Kitty jolted up and stared at her companion with half-trusting eyes, while her face was flushed in awkwardness.  
  
"Well, I didn't want to wake you up since you were sleeping so peacefully..." Just then, Pietro's explanation was cut short with Kitty yelling at him as a pervert and slamming pillows on his head. Kitty then jumped out of bed and started making her way to the bathroom to wash up.   
  
However, Pietro was much quicker. He sped towards her destination first, and leaned against the doorframe, blocking the entrance. "Kitty, I'm sorry... okay? Forgive me? Pwease..." Pietro said with his hands together and puppy dog eyes. It only made Kitty flush more. She had to admit he do look pretty gorgeous and cute in a way... not forgetting adorable.   
  
Her nonchalant lips spread into one of her attractive smiles. She tilted her head upwards and planted a peck on Pietro's left cheek, "Good Morning!"  
  
* * *  
  
Well, for the others... they seemed pretty well off. Lance and Rogue seemed to opened up to each other... little of them would be revealed though... no one actually knew what happened, but something in those glances they exchanged told the rest that Lance got over with his Kitty-madness, while Rogue started to develop other feelings rather then "cool"...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	9. Teddy Bear

Kitty and Pietro   
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 9: Teddy Bear  
  
Lance Alvers poked around disgustedly at his food. " Cheese macaroni! Yuck!" he muttered trying to hide his feelings of nausea when he saw how quickly the rest gobbled down their food as if there were gonna be no tomorrow or something. He sighed wondering what excuse was he going to use this time.  
  
Just then, the professor's deep grave voice pierced through his train of thoughts. "Next week would be declared independence week." Said the professor waiting for the idea to sink into the confused faces before continuing...  
  
"Mrs. summers and I have decided to take a one week vacation to the Maldives as a reward to ourselves. All duties would be handed over to Logan who will look after your welfare for the week. However, each of you would be assigned to a household chore in order to lighten Logan's duties. The schedule is posted on the library room door." The multitude of moans and groans came, fast and furious as the professor expected.  
  
'Man this sucks!" voiced a very irritated Pietro, who was known to be the slacker and the vain-pot of the lot.  
  
"Yea man! I totally agree," said Bobby who was equally lazy.  
Things proceeded at a much faster pace, as everyone was very eager to know what duties had been assigned to them.  
  
"OMG!!!" said Pietro who was practically shouting his lungs out. He was the first to reach the library using his supersonic speed. His shouts drew all attention to himself. "We're gonna have some cat waking us up for the whole of next week! Prrr... Meow..." Said Pietro in mock imitation of a cat and cracking up at the sight of Kitty's furious face going a tomato red. ~God she does look funny when she's angry~, Pietro thought to himself.   
  
"Shut up Maximoff!" growled Kitty, her eyes menacingly angry. She hated it when people made fun of her name. It turned out that Kitty was in charge of waking everybody up, Pietro to do the dishes, Rogue the laundry, Bobby the gardening, Lance, Kurt and Jubilee had the household chores. The young residents complained against the roster but it was in vain against Logan's stern looks.   
  
"I hope you guys do a satisfactory job next week." He said before leaving the room...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	10. Teddy Bear II

Kitty and Pietro   
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 10: Teddy Bear II  
  
The alarm clock rang shrilly. Kitty awoke with a jolt, rubbing her eyes groggily. She lay back in her bed lazily; mentally taking note of the chores that had to be done on that day. Suddenly, Kitty bolted upright remembering "independence week" that was to kick a start that very morning. She sighed, wondering why couldn't the professor give her an easier job such as "gardening". Kitty hurriedly dressed up in her bright yellow tank top and denim jeans before rushing down the stairs two at a time while trying to catch her breath. ~I'd be, like, so damn dead if any of the other mutants were late~, she thought to herself, silently musing how that egotistical-bummed Pietro would look like when he's asleep.  
  
"Rogue! Like, WAKE UP!" Kitty shouted through her best friend's ears.   
  
"GO AWAY Kit! Lemme have some more sleep!" the figure clutched tighter onto her pillow while blowing off her white bangs. Disregarding what the young freshman had said.   
  
"Hurry wake up! You're gonna be late anytime soon!"  
  
"Alright, alright," said Rogue who got up but promptly went back to sleep after Kitty had left the room.  
  
"Morning Kit!" said a chorus of cheery voices. Kitty turned around quizzically, then finding herself face to face with Bobby, Jubilee and Lance. She smiled, as she thought to herself, my, they are early! Now that Rogue, Jubilee, Bobby and Lance were awake, that meant only one thing left... Maximoff was still asleep! "ARGH! Why does it, like, always hafta be him? Can't he ever not, like, make my life difficult?" muttered Kitty through her clenched teeth.  
  
"MAXIMOFF! WAKE UP!" Kitty yelled, fists banging loudly against Pietro's door. Sensing no response, she opened the door gently, just a crack wide enough to allow herself in. ~Gosh, she thought, Maximoff looked so... so sweet and so cute and so vulnerable when he's sleeping!~ Kitty almost had to battle an inner restrain not to touch the sleeping figure. Just then, out of the corner of her lapis blue eyes, Kitty spotted something. Something soft, something furry, something brown, something worn out and old. Kitty convulsed with laughter. Pietro actually slept with a... TEDDY BEAR?  
  
Kitty couldn't stop laughing and her uncontrollable laughter woke the sleeping albino up. "Wha..?" Pietro mumbled, hardly able to complete his sentence when he noticed that Kitty was actually laughing at his age-old teddy. He quickly tried to hide it away but Kitty proved to be faster and snatched it away. She waved the toy in his face and hurriedly ran out. Seated at her usual place at the dining hall, Kitty was grinning from ear to ear.   
  
"Hey, what happened to you?" Rogue jabbed her roomy in the ribs asking her what the matter was. Finally, not being able to contain herself any longer, Kitty burst out saying, "Maximoff sleeps with a teddy!" The other mutants stared at her wide-eyed before bursting into roars of laughter, especially when Kitty produced the teddy bear from behind her. Just then, a VERY, VERY humiliated Pietro was standing at the doorway with a murderous look in his eyes, "You'll pay for this, Pryde!" he said before storming out.   
  
~Oh no, like, what have I done?~ Kitty's smile had faded away and she suddenly felt a stone in her heart, weighing her down. She didn't expect such a violent reaction from the young speed demon. She felt so remorseful as the little scene in his bedroom replayed itself in her mind, it seemed she was oblivious of what's happening around her, just the part of Pietro's blush of embarrassment, but now... he would never forgive her... or would he?  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	11. Teddy Bear III

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 11: Teddy Bear III  
  
Kitty sat down absent-mindedly on her seat. A whirlwind of questions were going through her mind. ~Would Pietro forgive me this time?~, ~Where was he?~ Lessons were about to begin soon... Just then, a voice called her. It seemed so distant and yet sharp, jolting her back into reality.  
  
"Hey nerd! Get off my seat! You're polluting it!" said the renowned cheerleader with the bitchy aura, Stacy Parsons. Stacy's hand was wrapped protectively over someone? Pietro. Kitty looked up at him, her blue eyes seemed as if pleading for forgiveness, raging with innocence. Instead, the young albino averted his gaze and looked to the ground, "Yeah. Get off her seat." The brunette's fragile heart sank, seemingly dropping to the ground and smashing into a million pieces. Kitty didn't know exactly what this emotional thing is about, but she couldn't help herself, so uncontrollable. Tears brimming from her lovely azure eyes, she ran out of the classroom, nearly colliding with their World History teacher, Mr Brown.  
  
"Kitty, where..." Mr Brown was taken aback of her sudden dismissal and tried to call after her. However, Kitty simply didn't hear anymore as she had already escaped from the four walls of her classroom. She ran as far and as long as her legs could carry her, not concerned at all of the weird stares that people threw at her. The pain was too much for her to bear and she just didn't want to stop running. ~Why? Why?~  
  
* * *   
  
Pietro's heart went with her, immediately regretting once his words left his mouth. ~Why in the world did I say that?~ He wondered silently.   
  
"Aww... honey, you don't need to care about that nerd. She's just gone to cry in some prissy corner of hers," Stacy said, voicing dripping with saccharine sweetness.   
  
Anger pricked Pietro somehow, "How dare you say that about Kitty?!!" He demanded. The sophomore pushed Stacy roughly aside and stormed out of the class.   
  
* * *  
  
Pietro wondered around aimlessly on the streets, everything in a blurry state to him. All he could think of was the tear-strained image of Kitty before she left the classroom. How his heart ached for her. ~Why did I even care for her?~ He mused. ~After all, she did humiliated ME.~ Despite that, Pietro still did not have the heart to be angry with Kitty. ~I guess this is what you call LOVE~ he thought. "God, am I in love with her?"  
  
* * *   
  
"B-But... Now she... H-How am I... Argh!" Pietro scratched his head in frustration. Matters were really getting out of hand. Now what can he do? All of a sudden, this bright idea struck him. ~Well, it just gotta work... Not much experience though...~ Pietro rubbed his hands in glee, then immediately went down to action. First, he entered a... flower shop? Yes. An assortment of beautiful flowers he knew Kitty would definitely love. Next... a balloon shop? Yup. He bought a variety of colourful ones, all imprinted with the words "Forgive Me". Using his supersonic speed, he rushed back to the mansion and let himself into Kitty's room. What is he gonna do, man?   
  
"Thank God she wasn't here," he thought. And then, it only took him less then 5 seconds to get the whole room decorated with the stuff he had bought. Flowers and lots of balloons, creating a perfect ambience! Pietro really hoped his idea would work this time.   
  
* * *  
  
The mansion loomed in sight. Kitty sighed as she trudged up the stairs. She was lucky no one was in sight. They probably would have been over-reactive if they saw her in this state: sweaty, flustered and tear-strained. Upon entering her room, Kitty switched on the lights. *GASP* A small gasp escaped from her lips. "Maximoff?" Kitty whispered.   
  
"Erm... Kitty, will you forgive me?" Pietro asked as he popped out from where he was hiding. It certainly wasn't what she thought would happen. It was too unexpected for her to say a thing. But one thing for sure, was that she felt her heart melted at the very sight of his earnest face. Never would Kitty thought she would see one from the likes of him...   
  
Kitty was about to open her mouth in reply, but what prevented it was Pietro's sudden grabbing of her waist and both of them enveloped in a warm, lasting kiss. ~I can't believe it. Am I dreaming? No. It's real. How, I don't know. But I know it's different. So different from the rest of the "accidental" ones~ Kitty thought.   
  
Gasping for air, both of them pulled apart from each other's embrace. "So am I forgiven?" asked one heck of a sincere albino. Kitty could only smile. Maybe it was a grin... but whatever it was, they pulled again once more into another of THOSE, leaving behind no traces of their quarrels.  
  
~It kinda seemed too "romantic" for me... but who cares!~ (Pietro).  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	12. Modeling?

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 12: Modeling?  
  
The sky was an azure blue; the clouds had no sign of gloominess. The tree leaves rustled as the breeze gently ran its fingers across the atmosphere. The birds gave off their perfectly tuned melodies and the institute wasn't the usual "conference room" of who deserved to use the bathroom first. It seemed nothing could go wrong on such a rare day like this. In fact, one would probably expect some good news here and there. But, NO. For a particular brunette... NO.  
  
* * *   
  
Kitty clutched the envelope wordlessly, tears streaming down her cheeks. The precious letter, which she had long awaited, contained the horrible reality that she didn't want to know and wished she didn't have to face up to.   
  
Just that morning she was so excited to have finally received a letter back home from her parents in the countryside. Kitty had eagerly tore opened the letter seal, eyes hungry for words of encouragement from her parents, instead she was confronted with a devastating truth? her father had contracted colon cancer.   
  
If he did not treat it soon, he would lose his life within months. Sobs racked her. ~How could this be? Wasn't Father always so strong and healthy? How could he have gotten cancer?!!~ And the inevitable question... Where were they gonna get the money to treat him? Kitty sighed. She quickly brushed her tears away, and hurried down to the breakfast table.  
  
"Down to earth Kit? Are ya alright? You've been staring at your cereal bowl ever since you came down... anything wrong?" Rogue asked eyebrows knitted in a frown.  
  
Kitty shook her beautiful honey coloured hair. "Err no Rogue... like, nothing's wrong." Kitty lied, not wanting her best friend to get all worried over her.  
  
"Are you sure?" prodded Rogue, knowing that something had happened only Kitty wasn't telling. However, Kitty just gave her a wan smile and nodded. Rogue shrugged. Nothing she could do to help if Kitty wasn't going to tell her, she decided.  
  
* * *   
  
After breakfast Kitty, hurriedly took off by herself, wanting some time to think about the situation. Pietro noted Kitty's frowns at the breakfast table that morning and wondered what was happening. He quickly finished his breakfast and using his god-like speed, chased after Kitty's lone figure. "Hey," Pietro said, grabbing Kitty by the waist, and bringing her to some deserted park so that they could be far away from other people's preying eyes.  
  
"What happened Kit?" asked Pietro gazing deep into Kitty's eyes. Her problems seemed like a huge river of water only suppressed by a thin, thin dam. At last she couldn't bear it any longer and collapsed into Pietro's warm embrace crying.  
  
"My dad... my dad... he's contracted colon cancer. How am I, like, gonna raise the money to treat him? My mum, like, is old and she cannot work anymore... what am I gonna do?" Pietro hugged Kitty's small figure even tighter, comforting her.  
  
* * *   
  
School's never been such a sad case. But as for today, it sure did break the record. There was certainly no space for anyone of those "world facts and theory" to go in. The cloud of confusion, desperation, helplessness overwhelmed every inch of logical thinking.   
  
Kitty strayed out of school. She had a very awkward dismissal, well, something like dismissing yourself. She was walking back to the mansion, staring at a spot between her sandals and the ground... as if they were amusing. However, what she didn't notice was what looked like two well-dressed businessmen approaching her.   
  
"Good afternoon miss." Said the slightly taller one who had a pock marked face.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Kitty already starting to get defensive, after tearing her gaze away from the ground.  
  
"Oh don't worry miss, we don't want anything. I'm John Brown, and this is my partner Jim Green. Here is our name card, we work for the Asiano Modeling Firm and we would like to sign you on as our new face." Kitty could only look at them mouth open in shock. Her face clearly depicted shock and bewilderment mingled in it. "U-Uh..."   
  
"Oh! Don't worry a thing! Money isn't the problem. In fact, the pay is very well off. You!" The other guy called Jim placed the thumbs and index fingers of both hands in a position that made a rectangle, while looking at her through it with an eye, "Yes, YOU are the one! Mag-nificent! Prrrfect! Picture perfect! Just the one I had in mind." Just after he finished off, his partner came back with an outstretched arm, "Well, please do consider our proposal. If you are interested, you will find us with that name card. You have a week to consider. This is a very spectacular opportunity not to be missed, young lady!"  
  
With the last of his words, both men disappeared as quickly as they had melted their presence. ~Hmm... Money isn't the problem? The pay is very well off? Spectacular opportunity?~ Kitty pondered a while, almost forgetting the fact that she's still in the middle of the pavement and about getting back to the institute. What seemed like 10 minutes of pondering, was actually only a minute or two of hesitation.   
  
"Okay... Where did I put that name card!"  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	13. Modeling? II

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 13: Modeling? II  
  
"YAHOO!!!!!" she shouted, practically punching her fist into the air. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and more over she needed the money for he dad. Kitty grinned. A grin that stretched wider then her mouth. She was truly thrilled and hurried home eager to make that call. She apparently had dismissed the pessimistic thought of her, Katherine Pryde, typical high school ditz of the century, was selected to be a model?   
  
As the mansion gates creaked open, Kitty wondered who was home. It certainly looked as if no one was home. Kitty thus rushed up the stairs three at a time. She opened her room door eager to make the call to the agency. However, as she stepped into it, her room looked like some one had been there before, "Rogue? Jubilee?" she called out.   
  
"Hey Kitty, its me, Pietro." Kitty spun round to see a very sweet albino carrying a bunch of flowers. She was stunned. "These are for you, baby. I thought these would cheer you up." Murmured Pietro. "Oh... how sweet of you." Said the younger brunette, then giving Pietro a peck on the cheek. Kitty sat down on her bed and patted the empty space at her side, motioning for her companion to sit down beside her. Breathlessly she told him about the encounter with the two men, explicitly not leaving out a single detail.   
  
"So should I take that job?" she asked him. For a moment Pietro looked crest fallen. He knew that a modeling job involved a lot of hazards and backstabbing and he didn't want Kitty to get hurt. But Kitty missed that look. She went on to ramble about how excited she was and Pietro feigned enthusiasm.  
  
* * *   
  
The following day after school Kitty quickly rushed home and changed into a purple turtleneck top and elegant black pants before rushing out of the house again to meet the men for a formal interview. As she neared the building she admired its infrastructure. It was bloody brilliant. Her shivering hand touched the gold plated door handles and pushed it open.   
  
There in front of her, was the expected busy working scene: where telephone rings reign the atmosphere, staff walking briskly from one place to another, arms seemingly wrapped around thick piles of ring folders etc. It certainly took the impression of a well-established modeling firm.   
  
"Good afternoon, Miss. How may I be of assistance to you?" a voice sprang out from the receptionist counter. "Oh, hi! My name's Katherine Pryde, and I'm here on request of Mr. John Brown and Mr. Jim Green to join this establishment." Kitty replied trying as much to sound as formal to the occasion. "Oh certainly! Please kindly follow me, Miss Pryde. I will be taking you to see Mr. McNair, the company's boss as you know..." With that, she stretched out a kindly hand to direct Kitty towards a huge door on its top most level. ~Whoa! I guess like they all say, the higher you are on the corporate ladder, the higher your storey is.~ Kitty thought, eyes still feasting at the grandeur of the construction.   
  
* * *   
  
"Aaa! I presume you are Miss Katherine Pryde. A very good afternoon to you." A man, resting on his enormous swivel chair, spun around to greet her once the receptionist left the room.  
  
"Yes, I am. It's a pleasure meeting you, sir." Kitty responded. She didn't felt as nervous anymore.  
  
"Certainly. What good manners you have. I'm very impressed with my subordinate's choice. You are indeed very suited for the job. Don't you worry, I'll be explaining to you about what you are required for in a minute." The middle-age man strolled with poise towards a small bar at the corner of his impressive office, "Would you prefer some tea?" he said, choosing one of the tin boxes which all seemed to be assortments of the different rich English tea.   
  
"Yes, please. Thank you for your hospitality, sir." Kitty replied again. "Don't need to call me sir, young lady. Let me introduce myself. I'm McNair, Bruce Whane McNair."   
  
After a couple of minutes taken when Mr McNair had went back to sitting on his swivel chair, he said, "Miss Pryde, I would be very pleased if you would be able to join our modeling firm. For such a young, spirited young lady such as yourself, I would like to inform you about the job..." he cleared his throat before continuing, "Recently, our company is linked with a variety of different magazine networks. We are currently focusing on teen fashion, and I would like to include an addition of a new face for our modeling firm."  
  
Kitty shifted a little in her seat. She couldn't contain anymore of the excitement, which was ready to burst out of her. "As you'd figure out, that new face would be... YOU. Yes, a very rare opportunity. You have the look of innocent beauty, yet and of pride and determination, a tinge of maturity and feminine characteristics. Exactly what our company needs!"   
  
"Mr McNair, I'm truly flattered. And of course, I would be very fortunate and interested about this application." Kitty said. Her smile broadening bit by bit, and her eyes glistened in enthusiasm.   
  
"Yes! Very well then, if you may, we would like you to take a look at our company's proposal and of what we could offer you in return of your sincere dedication." And so, he fished out neatly compiled papers on rather more details. Kitty took a good read of its information, as she has a feeling it may affect her future ambition. "Yes, I certainly will sign in agreement of this Mr McNair." She said while taking her pen out and signing onto it. ~The pay is, like, totally awesome! This is almost a dream come true. Like I'm some princess or something!~   
  
"This is splendid, Miss Pryde! The company is always ready to welcome you! I hope that during the six months of cooperation, you will be able to learn more about the modeling industry. It's a pleasure to have you joining us!" Mr McNair jumped out of his seat and gave Kitty a firm handshake.   
  
"Thanks Mr McNair. I'm very privileged to have this opportunity, and I will treasure it."  
  
* * *   
  
Kitty walked out of the office confidently. She took the elevator down to the first storey, dodging busy staffs. ~Kitty Pryde! I'm so impressed with yourself! Yes! I know I can do this!~ Just then, Kitty felt her head hitting against what she thought of as soft, yet hard, something like Pietro's six packs. "Ooh!"  
  
"Young Mister! Young Mister! Are you alright?" One of the company's secretaries rushed up to a young man of about 15 to 16 years of age. "I'm fine Julie. Really." A deep voice voiced out. "Are you alright, Miss?" He offered a hand to lift Kitty from the ground. However, Kitty still had her head down in embarrassment, not knowing who was the kind gentleman.   
  
"Uh- erm... yeah, I'm fine, thanks. I'm so sorry, though." Kitty got up. She brushed away the dust on her outfit and then looked up at her aid. Their eyes locked. Only for a few seconds before the secretary's voice interrupted the strange silence that enveloped them.   
  
"Ahem. Young Mr McNair, if you don't mind, you have to meet your father in five minute's time." She said. ~Oh my! H-He's gorgeous! Oh! What am I thinking? But he seemed only a few years older then me. Wait a minute! Young Mr McNair? H-He can't possibly be Mr McNair's son, would it?~ Kitty tore her eyes away from his and her face tainted with an distinct blush.   
  
Then, before Kitty was to make her leave, another familiar voice came, "Oh! Young Mister! I see you've met our newest recruit for the company's new face investment! She's Miss Katherine Pryde. And Miss Pryde, this is Mr McNair's son, Mister Zachary McNair." Kitty smiled gently at the young man in front of her. He had brown hair and deep green eyes. His appearance was certainly very attractive.   
  
~Oh my! She's a beauty. My father sure had good taste. Well, she couldn't be much younger than me...~ thought Zachary. And that, he bent down, taking Kitty's hand gently, he planted a soft kiss on it to show grace and respect. Kitty flushed again.   
  
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing more of you here then! See ya!" the young man, said as he reluctantly let go of Kitty's hand, his silhouette slowly disappearing into a turn at the end of the hallway...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	14. Drifting

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 14: Drifting  
  
Kitty wriggled in her seat while her teacher continued on her babbling spree. Her mind adrift. But to where? Or should we say... to whom? He had brown hair (a little spiky) and deep green eyes. Any female can fall for his features. *Ahem* obviously that could only mean one person. Zachary.   
  
Kitty for once felt like she was betraying Pietro. But who wouldn't, once in a while, think of another guy? No one, exactly! She felt much better after bickering against her own conscience. Weird. This was one of the rare occasions that the young brunette wasn't paying any attention to what the teacher was teaching.   
  
"Miss Pryde? I trust that you are still with us?" An awfully screechy familiar voice resounded in her ears.  
  
"E-Erm... Yes, Mrs Bestiar," replied Kitty. She flushed in embarrassment as some group of girls started throwing their heads back and laugh. But they were only rewarded with a death glare from Pietro. ~What is she daydreaming about? I hope it's about ME~ thought the albino. ~Urgh! Katherine Pryde! Get a grip on your self! Don't you think you had already loose enough face for once? He's just a guy anyway~ thought Kitty.   
  
R-R-I-I-N-N-G-G  
  
There goes the school bell; and there goes the last of her lesson. Kitty gathered all her books and left towards her locker almost immediately.   
  
"Hey Kitty!" shouted Pietro from a few steps behind, waving to her frantically to catch her attention.  
  
"Oh. Hi, Pietro."  
  
"Err... Kitty, is something bothering you?"  
  
"No. Why?" (Kitty) ~Oh... like, what a stupid think to ask. He's just concerned, duh!~  
  
"I caught you daydreaming in class. Thinking about me? Huh? Sharks... you don't have to..."  
  
Kitty raised an eyebrow at Pietro's once again already inflated ego. She should be getting used to it anyway.   
  
"Huh? Nothing. No, I was not thinking of you." Kitty said as her right palm slapped her forehead and she rolled her eyes heavenwards. Unfortunately, Pietro's frown of disappointment seemed to go unnoticed to Kitty too.   
  
"Oh, I, like, remember I have to go to work. See ya! It's my first day, so, like, wish me luck!" Kitty did a quick wave, then darted out through the entrance.   
  
* * *   
  
~Oh my! I'm so excited! It's my first day of work and it just seem so promising!~ Kitty thought. She had changed her casual-wear in one of the public washrooms. She got on something that looks like a collar shirt with something like a loose tank top over it with a pleated skirt and a pair of tennis shoes (kind of like some school chick).   
  
She took confident yet carefree steps into the building and was greeted by a smiling receptionist (same one). "Hi! Good afternoon, Ms Pryde. Nice to meet you."  
  
Kitty flashed a polite smile and replied, "Thank you. Good afternoon to you too."  
  
"How pleasant to see you, Ms Pryde. You are just on time. Mr McNair wants to see you in his office." Said a particular secretary with curly blonde hair.   
  
"Thank you." Kitty said and flashed another smile again. Kitty walked towards the elevator and pressed on the highest button. She still couldn't absorb all the grandeur of this establishment.   
  
* * *   
  
"Oh! How nice to see you here, Ms Pryde!" said the jovial Mr McNair as Kitty entered the office after her polite knocks.   
  
"Yes, sir. It is certainly pleasant to see you too."  
  
"Well, anyway, I would like you to meet somebody..." Kitty wasn't aware of a particular young man was sitting on a couch at one end of the room. But she could almost guess the continuation of her boss's speech.  
  
"... He is my son, Zachary."   
  
Kitty smiled one of her charming ones and spun around to catch a familiar face only a few centimeters away. He brought out his hand, and Kitty shook it firmly yet with grace.   
  
"And here we meet again," said the young man.  
  
"Oh! So you both have met already?"  
  
"Yes, father. By accident."  
  
"Yes, Mr McNair. It is an honor to see a fine gentleman being a replica of his father," Kitty praised. She was getting better at sweet-talking. Must be all the influence she got from a friendly albino.  
  
"Oh! That is too kind of you, Ms Pryde. Anyway, welcome to Asiano Modeling Firm where your career will be starting off from next Monday." Mr McNair smiled charmingly.  
  
"Monday? Sir, then what would I be assigned to for now?" Kitty said, her confused expression written clearly on her face. Zachary thought she looked extremely adorable that way and brought out a grin of his own.  
  
"Oh! That's right. I've already thought about it. Please let Zachary show you around this building and its facilities. I'm sure there is much to learn."   
  
Kitty nodded courteously before she noticed a hand beside hers that seemed pleading for hers to rest on it. She did, as her body worked faster than her mind. Zachary's smile grew wider as he planted a soft, lingering kiss on the back of her hand. Kitty noticed the sudden interaction and froze a little. She almost gave herself away by shivering under his touch. At that moment, it was so obvious that Kitty was blushing wildly.   
  
That is until Mr McNair too noticed that there might be some chemistry between the two that may spark off. He beamed broadly then cleared his throat so that they would hurry up get started with their tour.   
  
"Erm... I guess we shall be taking our leave, father."  
  
"Yes, thank you for everything, sir. May you have a nice day."  
  
"Oh. No problem. Off you go!"  
  
* * *   
  
Throughout the little tour around the building, Kitty was truly amazed at the very well refined facilities that were constructed in its premises. Then, there was the conversation between the two that had a good start off. They talked about anything as far as more than just a mere introduction of themselves. Like for example, the most embarrassing situation... bla bla bla... those memories did tickled their funny bones and they both end up laughing while clutching their stomachs.   
  
"Haha! Oh no! I can't stop! Ow, my tummy's aching like mad! Wahahahaha!" Kitty said through her laughing fit.  
  
"Same here... DUDE! Haha haha!" Zack (Zachary) stopped his impersonation of one of his classmate that resembles Evan.   
  
They seriously looked like they had respiratory problems. Now both their faces were so damn red from all the roars of laughter that seemed to attract the attention of one or two workers walking pass them. One could have mistaken they were from the Insane Asylum.  
  
"Hey, Kitty!"  
  
"Yeah?"  
"Urm... It's getting pretty late. Sorry for keeping you so long..."  
  
"Neh. Don't sweat it. I still haven't yet, like, thank you for such a wonderful day!"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Thanks! Really... for everything!"  
  
"Aw... haha! Hey, I was thinking whether I can give you a lift back home... please?"  
  
"Alright. Thanks again."  
  
* * *   
  
After a few minutes on the road...  
  
"Here we are!"  
  
Kitty didn't really hear Zack spoke. She had long fallen asleep during the ride. Zack looked at her more intensely. Under the pale moonlight, her skin seemed milky and pure. Her lips were soft and irresistible. Her chicks had a natural blush of pale redness (then again, it was probably all the laughing). Her eyes. They were closed. But throughout the day, Zack had noticed how he could get lost in those deep blue eyes of hers. Well, her body seemed almost perfect. All the right curves at the right places. Just that she may be more of less conservative though. She was like an angel from heaven.   
  
* * *   
  
"Huh? Whose car is that?" Pietro thought. He had gotten worried when Kitty didn't come home for dinner and so he had made some funny excuse to save her ass. He couldn't sleep, so he walked out to his window for some fresh air and just a while ago, a car pulled at the gates.   
  
* * *   
  
"Hellooooo... C'mon, wakey wakey!" Zack tickled the angel beside him. Her body rolled up to shield against his attacks but eventually, she failed and her eyes slowly fluttered open. To Zack, that moment or scene was priceless.   
  
"Oh! I'm so, like, sorry! I didn't know we reached..."  
  
"It's okay. Well, I guess I'll see you soon... babe!"  
  
"Haha! Stop the name-calling... hunk! Haha! Okay see ya!"  
  
* * *   
  
"Wait! I know who that is! It's my Kitty cat!" Pietro jumped up and down on his spot excitedly. But just then, something he saw totally wiped the smirk out of his face...  
  
* * *   
  
Zack leaned forward a little and place a small peck on Kitty's cheek. Her system just seemed to stop in time. Her face in total confusion of mixed feelings drenching her. Her eyes snapped open widely in shock.  
  
Kitty took a breath to get her back to reality and said, "Good night... Zack. Er... I-I'll see you soon." Her last syllable almost ending in a whisper, but Zack heard every word loud and clear.   
  
"Yeah, you too. Good night."  
  
Kitty walked out from the car and got to the front door. She gave Zack a last wave and he smiled widely before speeding off into the night.   
  
* * *   
  
Pietro clenched and unclenched his fists again and again. ~That guy... who is he to MY Kitty?~  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	15. Just One Fight Makes A Difference

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 15: Just One Fight Makes A Difference  
  
"Where have you been?" Pietro asked coldly, sitting on the couch as if he was expecting her.  
  
"Pietro! Aren't you, like, suppose to be in bed at this hour?" Kitty asked in exasperation.   
  
"No. You haven't answered my question yet. Where have you been?"  
  
"I told you I went for work. Like, don't tell me you forgot."  
  
"Work? Till this late? Or were you doing other things I should be knowing?"  
  
"Listen, Pietro. I'm not in the mood to quarrel with you. I'm tired."  
  
"No. You don't go anywhere until you answer my questions."  
  
"Pietro! I'm, like, really exhausted. Give me a break, will ya? This is so childish!"  
  
"What do you mean give you a break?"  
  
"Okay! Whatever! Like, what do you wanna ask? Make it snappy!"  
  
"I will. Who's that guy?"  
  
"What guy?"  
  
"Don't act dumb in front of me. I was referring to the guy who KISSED you!"  
  
"Look. He's just my friend. My boss's son, okay? Now I really wanna go."  
  
"So, my girlfriend is running into the arms of Mr. Rich and Handsome now, is she?"  
  
"What are you, like, trying to imply? That I'm betraying you?"  
  
"Yeah! Don't forget that YOU belong to ME! And there you go flirting with another!"  
  
"ME? Belong to YOU? Like, what do you take me as? Your toy? And I'm NOT flirting with him!"  
  
"I never said you were my toy. The fact now is that you are FRATERNIZING!"  
  
"Oh yeah? So that's how YOU think! I'm a whore? Or maybe a bitch? We were never an official couple anyway!"  
  
"You dare say that again? After all I've done for you, you said we weren't a couple? Then what were we?"  
  
"You know what? I'm, like, through with you. You don't even trust me! You just go ahead thinking of what YOU think is true. I'm, like, calling it quits!"  
  
"So that's what you want! You were probably plotting this ever since you met him! Fine! From now on, we go our separate ways! I don't want to see you again!" Pietro said. His tone colder and darker and more menacing than ever.  
  
Every word pierced Kitty's fragile heart like daggers in all directions. Yes, it was through. Kitty had to accept the fact. ~It's not worth to shed a tear for someone who doesn't even trust you~ she thought. But despite that, her tears disobeyed. They streamed down her cheeks. They welled up her eyes till it formed a translucent shield that makes it difficult to see her blue eyes. Her blue eyes... no more the zesty, spirited, out-going brightness of blue, but now, a dull, miserable and lifeless shade of the colour.   
  
Kitty ran. Her face buried in her hands. She ran up towards her room, never stopping to inhale a breath of air. Her mind was already mixed up. Her heart was already broken.  
  
Just one fight. Just one, was all it took to make a difference...  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	16. Realisation

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 16: Realisation   
  
It was a Saturday morning. Kitty's eyes fluttered open as she caught sunlight shining through her window. Her tummy groaned. She hadn't had any dinner yesterday. A thought popped into her head: she had to eventually have her meals, but she didn't want to face Pietro. After what took place the other night, Kitty just wasn't in the mood. She rolled over, but could feel the dampness of her pillow, soaked from how much she had cried. No one noticed, though, of how much pain her heart suffered.  
  
"Christmas... No." Kitty remembered that they were planning to spend their Christmas together like most couples would. ~Oh, why did I have to say that we aren't a couple. I'm, like, so stupid~ thought Kitty. But it's all over now. No more fancy candlelit dinner. No more kissing under a mistletoe. No more Pietro to come by anymore...  
  
-Flashback-  
  
"Kitty... I-I was thinking if you'd want to, erm... spend your Christmas with me?" Pietro said shyly. He's brave and macho façade would dissolve when it comes to his pretty and sweet Kitty. The brunette hesitated. Not that she mind, but she was trying to absorbed what Pietro had just said. It was so sudden. What she thought would never be was now a dream come true.   
  
"... But of course if you don't want to, well, it's okay with m-..." Pietro was suddenly cut off when Kitty wrapped her arms around his neck, saying, "Oh, Pietro! I, like, thought you'd never ask... Of course I'd love to!" As Kitty said that, her warm and gentle breath tickled his neck. This caused him to realise how close they were and his face flushed a crimson red.   
  
-End of flashback-  
  
* * *  
  
Pietro knew it was morning, but he hadn't had much sleep last night. He tossed and turned for what seemed like the hundredth time. It was when he decided to take a peek at his bedside digital clock, he noticed it. The "it" was an ordinary small, petite box from any jewelry shop. But its content holds a special meaning to him. There was a ring inside it, engraved on its silver body were two names: Kitty and Pietro.   
  
The young albino couldn't take his eyes off the box. He had meant to give it to her on their shared Christmas. Her- the only one who could bring happiness into his life, was also the one who could make him cry... "Kitty," a small whisper escaped his lips.   
  
As he stared blankly at the ceiling. He thought of the day he bought the ring. Actually, it was supposed to be rings. He had on one of them. Exactly the same, engraved with both their names. He turned his ring as the memory came flooding back...  
  
-Flashback-  
  
Pietro had a huge smile stretched across his face. Never had he been able to smile like this before. He had bought two identical rings with their names engraved on each. ~She'll love it~ he thought. He could now picture the scene when he shall wear the ring onto her finger, like a married couple. Then, they would be involved in a passionate kiss... ~Ahhh! If only~ But seeing Kitty blush would already bring him contentment.   
  
-End of flashback-  
  
He smiled at his ring, a smile just like the one in his flashback. But realisation wiped it away in mere seconds. "How could I even do this to her?" he said to himself. ~What if I had mistaken her? What if that guy kissed her without her approval? What if everything was a mistake in the first place? And my Kitty... no, she won't forgive me~ his head was now swarming with questions. ~MY Kitty~ the words felt strange to him now. She does not belong to him anymore. ~What if she's right. We were never an official couple. And it's true. I just went with the flow, assuming I am her boyfriend after we got along with each other.~  
  
He was in a dilemma. Pietro didn't want to think of it anymore. He walked towards his stereo and turned to his favourite radio station, when the lyrics of a song filled his room...  
  
  
Chorus:  
  
Every time I kiss, I feel your lips  
And every time I cry, I see you smile  
And every time I close my eyes  
I realise~  
That every time I hold your hand in mine  
The sweetest thing my heart could ever find  
And I have never felt this way  
Since the day?  
I gave your love away...  
  
(Everytime by A1)  
  
  
Yes, it all makes sense now. ~I never gave her the chance to explain, I just let her run away...~ "Kitty, I still love you no matter how much it hurts to see you with another guy." He said as a lone tear rolled down his cheeks. He never meant to make her cry. He never meant to accuse her. He never meant not to see her again. But most importantly, he never meant for them to go their separate ways because he loved her and he will always do...  
  
Then, a gasp was heard as he remembered something... "Christmas is tomorrow!"  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	17. White Christmas Love

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters in X-Men Evolution and the songs, but we own our story  
* * *  
  
Chapter 17: White Christmas Love  
  
  
Kitty jumped out of bed as the phone rang. Immediately, her train of thoughts was broken by its consistent rings. She walked towards it and picked up.  
  
"Hello? May I speak to Kitty, please?" the speaker at the other line was very familiar, but Kitty hadn't seemed to recognise it from the splitting headache she just had. "Hello. It's me, here," Kitty replied in a gentle tone. "Kitty! It's Zack. Erm... I was wondering if you'd go to the Christmas ball with me... will you?" he asked sincerely. For a moment there, it reminded Kitty of the person who stole her heart? Pietro.  
  
"Christmas ball?" she enquired. Kitty hadn't remembered any Christmas ball mentioned. "Oh. I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. It's an annual thing our company holds. Erm... will you go with me? I really want you to come, Kitty. Please..." he pleaded. Kitty was a little shock, but she was glad that at least she wouldn't be spending Christmas sobbing over some albino. "Yeah. Okay."   
  
* * *   
  
Kitty hung up as soon as Zack had confirmed when he was going to pick her up. Mixed feelings churned in her. Her heart ached at the thought that Pietro would really thing she'd have a thing for Zack. Then again, they had broken up anyway. Zack was nice and all, it would be any girl's dream to have him, he's tall and handsome and rich and nice and funny and all-rounded... but Kitty only knew him for two days and only treated him as a good friend, nothing more.  
  
Kitty wanted to cry all her emotions out. Pietro leaving her. Pietro not loving her. Pietro accusing her. Pietro this, Pietro that. All she could think of now was him. Because she loved him and she would always do so. But what if he doesn't love her back? She didn't want to face reality. It in itself was what Kitty feared.   
  
"Kitty, are you okay?" Rogue asked as she stepped into the room. Kitty was curled up like some helpless little girl. She hugged her knees as she silently cried. "Kitty, please tell me what happened. I promise I won't tell, and whatever it is, I'll try my best to help you..." pleaded Rogue. She hadn't seen her friend this depressing before.   
  
Kitty sniffed harder. She didn't want to look up, afraid that Rogue would start pitying her. She didn't need pitying, she needed consoling. "Oh, Rogue... It's so complicating. I really don't know what to do," cried Kitty.   
  
"Kitty, maybe you should try telling me what happened."  
  
"Rogue. Pietro broke up with me. H-He thought I-I had a thing for Zack..."  
  
"Who's Zack?"  
  
"H-He... erm, like, he's my friend. H-He's my boss's son. I-I don't know. Like, I think he likes me and all, b-but, I only knew him for, like, two days. A-And... I like Pietro. I love him... really, I do..."  
  
"Don't worry Kitty. I know how to help you."  
  
"B-But Rogue. I-I don't know w-whether I ought to go to the Christmas b-ball with Zack. H-He asked me just now, a-and I agreed, a-and like I don't know whether i-it's right..."  
  
"You made the right choice, Kitty. Leave the rest to me. That Pietro ought to go to hell." Rogue said and marched angrily out of the room, leaving Kitty to continue sobbing. ~Don't worry, Kitty. I know what to do~  
  
* * *   
  
"No. I must apologise to Kitty now. Yes, I'll just do that. She'll forgive me, surely. Then we could go out together, like what we've planned. Oh... I don't wanna lose you, Kitty. I'm sure we'd be happy together." Pietro said to himself. He sat on his bed, his face buried in his hands. He felt hopeless. He felt he was going to lose Kitty forever just because he was jealous. He felt all the happiness drained from him.  
  
"NO YOU DON'T, PIETRO MAXIMOFF!" his door slammed opened as Rogue marched in. Her gloved hand grabbed his the front of his shirt, lifting him up from his depressing position. "Listen! Kitty.Is.Not.Going.Anywhere.With.You! Why? Because.Zack.Had.Asked.Her.To.A.Christmas.Ball! Why? Because.He.Likes.Her! And you? You.Dumped.Her! She wasted the 70% of water in her body crying over you. And what do you do? Sit.Here.And.Regret.Thinking.She.Would.Run.Back.Into.Your.Shameless.Arms! Will she do that? NO! You heard me loud and clear, Pietro, NO!" and with that, Rogue stormed out of his room, leaving Pietro totally dumb-founded. ~Kitty's not gonna be with me anymore. Because it's my fault. She cried over me... But it's all my fault.~  
  
* * *  
  
The next evening...  
  
"Kitty! You look great!" Rogue exclaimed as Kitty emerged out of the bathroom. She was wearing a white spaghetti evening gown and her hair was in an elegant bun with strands of hair that fell gently only framed a face more beautifully. She looked like an angel.   
  
"I don't know, Rogue. I don't know if this is, like, the right thing to do..." Kitty asked. "Oh, don't worry. Trust me. You'll remember this night forever! Then... you can slowly thank me." Rogue replied. Kitty looked at the clock: 6.55p.m. She had remembered that Zack would be picking her up at 7. Kitty went over to her table and put on glittery sky blue eye shadow to emphasize her blue eyes and just a bit of lip gloss. She was done. She slipped on a pair of white plat-forms and was ready to go.   
  
"Bye, Rogue! Thanks!" Kitty heaved another sigh. Beep-beep! "Go and have fun, Kitty! Zack's waiting for ya!" Rogue waved at her best friend as she walked out of the room. Yes, it was snowing beautifully out there. Kitty grabbed her coat and left...  
  
* * *   
  
"What are you doing here, lazing around the fire place for?" Rogue said as she ascended the stairs staring at Pietro's back. "What can I do? She left," he replied coolly. "You are right. She left. And are you just gonna sit down there while some guy were to swoop her away from you, will ya?" Rogue walked towards the couch and sat next to him.   
  
"But what can I do, Rogue. It's all my fault."   
  
"Go get her!"  
  
"I can't. She belongs to another guy now..."  
  
"She ain't unless you don't want her back, that is."  
  
"I DO want her back. I want her to spend Christmas with me... like we promised to."  
  
"Then what are you waiting for, you idiot?!"  
  
Pietro brightened up. "You're right. What am I doing here? I'm gonna chase her back, right now!" he said as he got up and ran to his room. "That's the spirit, young man!" shouted Rogue as she punched the air. ~I want you back Kitty... because I love you too~ thought Pietro.  
  
  
But if I let you go  
I will never know  
What my life would be holding you close to me  
Will I ever see  
You smiling back at me  
Oh yeah~  
How would I know  
If I let you go...  
  
(If I Let You Go by Westlife)  
  
* * *   
  
As the music in the background played through the large common room, Kitty found herself in the arms of another as they danced...  
  
  
Baby I tried but  
I can't help myself   
Can't disguise the way I feel inside  
I'm falling so helplessly it's true  
  
I close my eyes and believe completely  
That I can feel you touching my skin so tenderly  
Come morning light   
Just a victim of fantasy  
  
Every time I open my eyes   
You just disappear you say goodbye  
Baby I'll do anything to make you mine  
Oh it's true  
  
All I want is you  
I'll give my heart and soul  
All I want is you  
I'll be there when you call  
All I wanna do  
Is make love to you  
All I want is you  
All I want is you...  
  
  
(All I Want Is You by 911)  
  
  
"Kitty..." the soft, whispery voice blew into Kitty's ears. "Yes, Zack?" she asked, her eyes lifted up to meet his gentle gaze. "I'm just so happy you agreed to come with me, you know that?" he said. Kitty simply nodded. "And you know what?" his voice filled with passion. "What?"   
  
"You look beautiful today... everyday," came the reply.  
  
Kitty was stunned. It was certainly sweet of him. The way his sweet tongue had worked its charm was enduring. However, Kitty wasn't at all at the peak of happiness. ~If only Pietro would say such things to me~ she thought, but lightly shook away the thought. ~Stop thinking of him, it's all over~  
  
* * *   
  
As Pietro's foot slammed harder against the car's paddle to accelerate, his mind played on the vivid memories they had shared. He remembered the first time he laid eyes on her... he almost thought nothing of her, but the warmth and kindness towards his hostility surprised him. And there was the time he wrote that mean poem about her... how the ice surrounding his heart started melting away from the sadness in those deep blue orbs. The time they had their little jungle mission, when they were all drenched, sitting on either side of the fire alone in a cave... and that first kiss they shared out of their consistent bickering in the middle of some waterfall? When they had that little pillow fight in their hotel room, which had ended in a little goodnight kiss. Not forgetting that teddy bear incident... and now, she's probably having the time of her life with another guy and he failed to win her back.  
  
  
Chorus:  
It can happen to...  
Anyone of us, anyone you think of  
Anyone can fall  
Anyone can hurt someone they love  
Hearts will break  
´Cause I made a stupid mistake  
It can happen to...  
Anyone of us, say you will forgive me  
Anyone can fail  
Say you will believe me  
I can't take my heart will break  
´Cause I made a stupid mistake  
A stupid mistake...  
  
(Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake) by Gareth Gates)  
  
  
'No, Kitty, I cannot say I've failed to win you back when I've not even tried. Wait for me, please...' he thought. And as the song in the radio played its ending, Pietro couldn't help but sang the last of it, "'Cause I made a stupid mistake. A stupid mistake..."  
  
* * *  
  
As the song ended...  
"Kitty, I would like to show you something," Zack said. Kitty nodded and smiled sweetly. Zack twined his fingers with hers till his held her hand and led her to a beautiful garden outside, complete with an angel fountain.   
  
"You said you wanna show me something right, Zack? Like, where is it?" Kitty asked looking around. The garden was very enchanting beneath the starry night sky. "Hold on, Kitty. I'm getting to it," Zack replied. He fished out a silver necklace with a magnificent aquamarine gem.   
  
"Kitty..." Zack said, "I want you to accept this as a token of my love to you. I love you, Kitty." Kitty was totally caught off guard. ~H-He loves me?~ she thought. Her mind flashed the picture of Pietro, this time more vivid than ever. ~But he doesn't love me anymore. Maybe it's time to let go and find someone new. Zack already loves me. Oh no, I'm so confused~   
  
"Kitty?" Zack asked. "Zack, I'm not sure. I've only known you for a few days. I'm confused," Kitty confessed. "I know, Kitty. But the moment I saw you, I knew I would fall in love with you," Zack said. "Are you sure? There's a difference between 'Love' and 'Lust' you know, Zack?" she said.   
  
Just then...  
"Kitty! Kitty! No! Don't do it!" a familiar voice rang out, startling the two. Kitty turned her head to see a figure running towards her. It was quite dark, only a few lamps lit up the garden here and there. But when she saw a flash of white, she was utterly speechless at whom it was. ~Pietro?~  
  
* I Do, I Do  
I Do, I Do...  
  
Pietro ran. He didn't even care to think he had speed power. He just ran all the way to her. When Kitty realised it was him, she was shocked beyond words. Immediately, Pietro knelt down in front of her, in a proposing position. "Another chance, Kitty, that's all I needed," Pietro said in the middle of pants. His hand held tightly to a bouquet of red roses. Pietro stuck a hand into his pocket to fish out the little box. With his arm, that held the roses in that arm's hand, he wiped off his perspiration quickly.   
  
* All I am, all I'll be  
Everything in this world  
All that I'll ever need  
Is in your eyes  
Shining at me  
When you smile I can feel  
All my passion unfolding...  
  
Kitty stared at him. How he had beads of perspiration on his forehead. Her heart skipped beats. She could already picture him running to her, so caught up with thinking of her that he forgot he could use his supersonic speed. She looked down at his kneeling position. Her eyes started to brim with tears, threatening to fall.  
  
* Your hand brushes mine  
And a thousand sensations  
Seduce me 'cause I...  
  
Pietro got the little box. He took a good look at it and smiled. He cleared his throat and said, "Kitty, I made a very stupid mistake, and it almost cost me to lose the only one I love. Now, I kneel before you. Kitty... *wiping his perspiration with the back of his hand* ...will you be my stead?" Kitty noticed how his eyes twinkled with hope. But something was missing... happiness.   
  
* I do cherish you  
For the rest of my life  
You don't have to think twice  
I will love you still  
From the depths of my soul  
It's beyond my control  
I've waited so long to say this to you  
If you're asking do I love you this much  
I do...  
  
She looked at the flowers, she looked at the box that was stretched out to her, and she looked at how Pietro knelt down to propose. Her heart just couldn't contain it anymore. It was so touching. A lone tear streaked down her face. She took the roses, then the box. Her shivering hand slowly opening it. And there it laid, it was a beautiful silver ring with hers and Pietro's name engraved on it. It wasn't as expensive as Zack's gift, it was quite typical, but now she was given a choice, she was gonna choose it over the gem necklace, because it was from him? Pietro, the one she gave her heart to.  
  
* In my world, before you  
I lived outside my emotions  
Didn't know where I was going  
'Till that day I found you  
How you opened my life  
To a new paradise...  
  
She took the ring out. Then she looked at Zack. His reaction wasn't one she had expected. Instead, he smiled and nodded to her, urging her to put that ring on. She looked at Pietro, his eyebrows still gathered in a clump of worries. And then, she put on the ring. She saw Pietro loosened up, his face lit up. His eyes, which were filled of hope, had added in 'happiness'. Kitty smiled as more tears ran down her cheeks. She knelt down and hugged Pietro tightly.   
  
* In a world torn by change  
Still with all of my heart  
'Till my dying day...  
  
"I love you, Kitty," Pietro said, "I've never learnt to treasure you so much till the day you went away. Will you forgive me? Will you be my stead? Will you love me back?" he asked. "YES! Of course I will!" she said as both of them let go of their embrace and kissed each other passionately...  
  
* I do cherish you  
For the rest of my life  
You don't have to think twice  
I will love you still  
From the depths of my soul  
It's beyond my control  
I've waited so long to say this to you  
If you're asking do I love you this much  
Yes I do...  
  
* * *  
  
But what they didn't know, was that they were already standing under a mistletoe. I wonder who placed it there? Kitty opened her eyes, still kissing him. She noticed that the spot where Zack had stood, was replaced with a garden table, and on it, was a piece of note under the gem necklace. She read the note, and it says:  
  
* If you're asking do I love you this much  
Baby I do  
I'll cherish you   
(This much I know its true)  
From the depths of my soul  
It's beyond my control  
I've waited so long to say this to you  
If you're asking do I love you this much~  
Baby I do...  
  
  
Dear Kitty,   
  
I'm truly happy for you, that you have found your one true love.  
You are right, there is a different between 'Love' and 'Lust'. Maybe   
I'll find my true love one day. But in the meantime, please accept  
This as a token of our friendship. See you soon!  
  
Yours Sincerely,  
Zack ^_^  
  
  
* Oh oh I do... ...  
(I Do (Cherish You) by 98 Degrees)  
  
Kitty smiled contentedly, she looked down at her ring, and closed her eyes again to savour the kiss... ~Happy Christmas~  
  
* * *  
  
To be continued... 


	18. ALERT! authors' note

Kitty and Pietro  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: We are intending on releasing a new Kitty and Pietro II by year 2003. If you have read this message, it has served its purpose. We would like for those in favour of the above idea to submit their agreement through reviews. thank you ^-^  
  
* * *  
  
Till we meet again... 


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